N  THE; 


' 


LIFE  IN  THE  FAR  WEST, 


OR 


A    DETECTIVE'S 
THRILLING  ADVENTURES 


AMONG 


THE    INDIANS    AND  OUTLAWS 
OF    MONTANA. 


BY 

C.    H.    SIMPSON. 


CHICAGO 
RHODES  &  McCLURE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY.o 

1897. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1896  by  the 

RHODES  &  MCCLURE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C 

All  Rights  Reserved. 


-.CONTENTS:- 


CHAPTER  I.      An  Important  Decision — Off  for  a  Vaca 
tion — Going  for  Buffalo — Running  the  Rapids. .  .9-13 

CHAPTER  2.       The    Hunt — First    Buffalo — An    Unseen 
Enemy — Indian  Stratergy 14-1 7 


CHAPTER   3.      The  Burning  Camp — A  Mystery — A  Red 
Devil — Struggling  for  Life 18-23 


CHAPTER  4.      A  Hard    Case — Detective    Caught — After 
the  Forger — Ten  Thousand  Reward 24-27 


CHAPTER  5.      Trapped — Searching   the    Cellar — In    the 
Counterfeiters  Den 28-33 


CHAPTER  6.      Rescued — Doomed  to  be  Burned . .  .  34-36 


CHAPTER  7.  Kitty  Barnes — A  Note — The  Promise — 
Hiding  for  Life — A  Possible  Murder — Frightened 
Couple — Fidelity  to  Friends - 37~5° 


CHAPTER  8.      Kitty  Wins — Charley  in  Doubt — A  Willing 
Prisoner — The  Detective  Released 5 1-55 


CHAPTER  9.  In  Devil's  Canon — A  Strange  Place — 
Jack's  Story — The  Nugget  of  Gold — The  Road  to 
Death — A  Geyser 56-63 


CHAPTER  10.      The  Crazy  Hermit — Pursued   by  Indians 
Hermit's  Wild  Shriek 64-70 


CHAPTER    n.      Death   of  Jack — An    Exciting    Race — A 
Brave  Man's  Fight 7 1-73 

CHAPTER   12.      A   Race  for  Life — Standing   at   Bay — A 
Shrewd  Game  Foiled 74-/6 


CHAPTER  13.  The  Haunted  Cabin — A  Mutual  Dislike 
— An  Important  Find — Murderer  Run  Down  and 
Hung 77-84 


CHAPTRR  14.      The   Cave   of    Death — Despairing  Wails 
— A  Sad  Fate - 85-90 


CHAPTER  15.      A  Mystery — A  Strong  Door — The    Dead 
Hermit  and  His   Gold 9J~95 


CHAPTER    16.       An    Unfinished    Letter — Sad    Fate    of 

Twelve  Men — The  Last  to  Die — Stranger's  Sad  Story 

—Finding  the  Graves — The  Diary's  Story..  ..96-105 


CHAPTER  17.      A  Clew — Hardscrabble — Zell . .  .  106-1 1 1 

CHAPTER  18.      Kitty— Old   Friendship — Kitty's  Story — 
Off  for  the  Mountains..  ,.112-118 


CHAPTER    19.      The   Plotters — Villainous    Compact — A 
Heinous   Crime 1 19— 122 


CHAPTER  20.  Zell — A  New  Friendship — Taking  Supper 
— Villains  Overheard 123-129 

CHAPTER  21.  A  Night  of  Horror — Terrific  Storm — A 
Novel  Guide — Finding  the  Hermit — A  Surprise  .  . 
130-138 


CHAPTER   22.       Captivity — The   Fawn's   Visit — Charley 
Freed 1 39-1 43 


CHAPTER  23.      The   Flight — Recaptured — Terrible   Sus 
pense — Fleeing  for  Life 144-149 


CHAPTER  24.      Lost  in  the  Cavern — At  Wits   End — An 
Ugly  Visitc  r i  50-1  54 

CHAPTER     25.      Trapped — Honor    Among     Thieves — A 
Disappointed   Murderer 155—158 


CHAPTER    26.       Saved — A   Dream — Zell's  Appeal — The 
Flight 159-163 


CHAPTER    27.      Meantime — Infuriated   Villains — Search 
for  the  Diamond 164-170 

CHAPTER  28.      The   Great    Medicine    Stone — What    the 
Stone  Revealed — Zell — Captives 171-1 77 


CHAPTER   29.      Free — A    Peaceful   Sleep — A    Villain — 
Hardscrabble 178-183 

CHAPTER  30.      Back  to  Hardscrabble — Appeasing  Their 
Hunger — A  Re-Union — On  the  Trail 184-187 

CHAPTER    31.      Albert    Dumars — At  the  Ball — Charley 
Returns  and  Tells  His  Story 188-193 

CHAPTER    32.       A    Plot   Discovered — Jim    Kingsbury — 
Arranging  His   Plan 194-198 

CHAPTER    33.      Lucy — Misguided — The    Eldorado 

199-201 


CHAPTER    34.        A    Wedding — A     Happy     Bride — Too 
Much  Happiness 202-208 


CHAPTER  35.      Lucy's    Death — Out    for    a    Ramble — A 
Boat  Ride — A  Suicide 209-2 1 3 


CHAPTER  36.       Foiled — With    Outlaws — In    Ambush — 
The  Massacre — Wicked  Planning 214—224 


CHAPTER  37.  To  the  Rescue — Getting  Ready — A 
Bloody  Struggle — The  Rescue — Homeward  March 
225-231 


CHAPTER    38.      Kidnapped — Kitty    and    Zell — "It  is    a 
Sin" — She  Knew  No  More 232-238 


CHAPTER  39.     The  Rangers  Return — A  Lucky  Shot — 
A  Happy  Ending 239-241 

CHAPTER   40.       Jealousy  —  Distrust — An    Interview — A 
Letter 242-247 


CHAPTER  41.      Deeper  in  the  Plot — Kidnapped — Villains 
—Horrified  Zell 248-255 


CHAPTER   42.       Retribution — Kingsbury  Dead  —  Heart 
Bounds  With  Hope — Love 256-261 

CHAPTER    43.        Conclusion — A    Happy    Mother — End 
Well— All  Well 262-264 


OH,  BUT  WON'T  I  HAVE  A  TIME.' 


WILD  LIFE  IN  FAR  WEST, 

-:OR  :- 
A  DETECTIVE'S  THRILLING  ADVENTURES 

AMONG 

THE  INDIANS  AND  OUTLAWS  OF  MONTANA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

AN    IMPORTANT  DECISION. 

"The  tenth  of  March!"  cried  Charley  Shipton,  a  young 
detective,  who  had  just  been  notified  that  he  was  to 
have  a  summer's  vacation  beginning  upon  the  tenth  of 
March.  Glad  news  was  this  for  the  young  fellow;  for  he 
had  been  working  hard  and  faithfully  for  the  last  two 
years  and  deserved,  if  any  one  did,  a  recognition  of  his 
faithful  services. 

Happy  and  light  hearted  was  Charley  Shipton  when 
the  welcome  and  long  looked  for  tidings  were  received. 

"The  tenth  of  March"  he  mused,  "let  me  see;  just 
five  days — O  but  wont  I  have  a  time!  and  dancing  a 
hornpipe  in  his  glee,  he  shouted: 

"Bully  for  us!" 

"Hello!"  cried  Fred  Wilson,  an  old  chum  of  Charley's 
entering  the  room  at  this  opportune  moment — just  in 

(9) 


HQ*,        -.  c  * « >  -  ;  OFF  ON  A  TARE. 

tirrjeutq.hfiar  Chg^ley's  exuberant  though  somewhat  vul- 
:g^£^|>ressi6u;rwhcerevhe  stood  aghast  and  bewildered  at 
the  queer  antics  of  his  usually  sober  and  altogether  busi 
nesslike  room-mate. 

"Bully!"  again  cried  the  overjoyed  fellow,  shaking  the 
welcome  missive  before  the  eyes  of  his  "pard,"  as  he 
called  his  chum.  "Bully  for  me!"  kawhoop.  I'm  off!" 

"By  thunder  Charley,  I  believe  you  are  off!"  exclaimed 
Fred.  "What  the  deuce  have  you  been  imbibing  any 
how  old  fellow:  Rock  and  rye,  or  plain  bugjuice?" 

"Nary  one,"  shouted  Charley.  "It's  better  than  that. 
No,  no  Fred,  no  Rock  and  rye,  no  spiderjuice,  but  a 
straight  out  and  out  summer's  vacation." 

"P-h-e-u,"  whistled  Fred".  By  gum  though,  Charley 
I  envy  your  good  luck,  though  you  deserve  it  all  right 
enough.  But  where  are  you  going — to  see  your  folks 
out  in  Kansas?" 

4  'No.  I  may  go  there,  but  not  to  stay.  I  am  off  on  a 
regular  old  tare.  Don't  know  yet  just  where  I  will  go; 
but  I  think  I  will  go  to  the  mountains." 

'  'Let's  see"  said  his  friend,  here  is  a  map  of  the  United 
States,  let's  look."  And  spreading  it  out  upon  the  table, 
the  two  friends  sat  down  and  began  to  look  up  a  desira 
ble  locality;  a  place  where  a  lover  of  adventuresome 
sport  would  be  most  likely  to  find  what  his  heart  had  for 
so  many  years  craved,  a  place  where  hunting  and  fish 
ing  and  possibly  something  of  a  more  adventuresome 
character,  as  well,  could  be  found . 

Looking  over  the  broad  domain  of  the  United  States 
and  for  a  moment  with  finger  poised  in  a  debating  atti- 


GOING    FOR    BUFFALO.  II 

tude,  it  descended  and  rested  upon  a  spot  near  the  Yel 
lowstone  Park  in  the  far  away  territory  of  Wyoming. 

"Yes,  Fred,  I  will  go  there.  It's  the  wildest  part  of 
the  United  States,"  he  said  and  that's  just  what  I  want. 
I  want  to  get  away  from  civilization,  from  the  rush  and 
roar  of  the  city  from  fashion  and  from — from — 

'  'The  fair  sex"  suggested  Fred,  with  a  shrug  of  his 
broad  shoulders . 

"Yes.  I  will  have  summer  all  by  myself  at  anyrate," 
said  Charley;  "and  that  will  be  a  relief. 

"Bet  you  will  be  homesick  before  you've  been  gone  a 
month." 

"Well,  homesick,  lovesick  or  what-sick,  I  am  off," 
replied  Charley. 

And  five  days  later  he  took  the  train  for  Miles  City, 
the  then  western  terminus  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail 
road,  where  he  arrived  in  due  course  of  time. 

Here,  he  learned,  that  a  day's  drive  from  Terry  Sta 
tion,  some  fifty  miles  below,  that  that  noble  game,  the 
American  buffalo,  were  to  be  found  in  great  plenty. 

This  was  a  temptation  altogether  too  great  for  the 
sport  loving  detective;  so  he  decided  to  turn  from  his 
course  just  long  enough  to  take  a  day  or  two  among  the 
shaggy  monsters. 

The  route  was  down  the  Yellowstone  River;  and  the 
quickest  and  easiest  mode  of  conveyance  was  by  boat. 
So  a  boat  was  procured  and  all  articles  necessary  for  a 
three  or  four  days  grand  buffalo  hunt  were  loaded  into 
the  boat,  and  soon  he  found  himself,  in  company  with  a 
young  fellow,  whom  he  had  picked  up,  upon  the  swift, 
turbulant  current  of  the  Yellowstone. 


12  RUNNING   THE    RAPIDS. 

Down  the  swift,  rushing  river  they  glided,  rivaling  the 
speed  of  a  race-horse  in  their  mad  career.  Pleasant, 
indeed,  was  the  journey.  Beautiful  scenery  lined  the 
river's  course  upon  either  hand.  Now  upon  the  one  side, 
high  bluffs,  barren  and  broken,  with  dark  canons  and 
narrow,  winding  denies  which  looked  as  if  they  might 
have  been  the  retreat  of  banditti  or  bold,  daring  high 
waymen;  then  upon  the  other  side,  the  country  stretch 
ing  away  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  in  broad,  undul 
ating  plains,  with  here  and  there,  nestling  beside  some 
little  stream  and  sheltered  by  the  spreading  branches  of 
giant  cottonwoods,  was  to  be  seen  the  homes  of  the 
much  talked  of  "Cow-boy,"  while  over  the  grassy  plains 
roamed  their  herds  of  horses  and  cattle. 

On,  on  they  flew;  till,  presently,  they  heard  a  dull, 
roaring  sound,  which  came  to  them  from  down  the  river, 
like  the  distant  roar  of  a  cataract. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Charley  of  his  companion. 

"It's  Buffalo  Rapids,"  replied  he.  "We'd  better  pull 
in  near  the  shore,  for  we'll  have  to  land.  We  can't  run 
the  rapids  in  such  a  small  boat." 

But  it  was  too  late,  for  already  the  swift  current  was 
drawing  them  on  with  that  irresistable  force  and  speed 
which  convinced  them  that  escape  was  impossible. 

Swiftly  they  were  approaching  now;  while  Charley, 
standing  in  the  bow  of  the  boat,  paddle  in  hand,  his 
eagle-eye  scanning  the  foaming,  leaping  water,  on  it 
poured  over  the  line  of  ugly  rocks  which  stretched  from 
shore  to  shore,  watched  for  a  passage  through  which  to 
pass. 

On,  on,  now  upon  the  verge  of  the  rapids,  the  black, 
ugly  rocks  thrusting  their  jagged  heads  above  the  water 


SAFELY    OVER.  13 

upon  either  side;  then,  with  a  plunge  like  a  frightened 
bird  descending  from  on  high,  the  little  boat  shot  down 
through  the  hissing,  roaring  current.  There  was  a 
plunge,  a  roar,  and,  in  an  instant,  the  little  boat  shot 
triumphantly  out  from  the  torrent  of  foam  and  spray 
and  rested  upon  the  placid  waters  below. 

''By  jingoes,"  exclaimed  Charley,  "I  would  like  to  do 
it  again!" 

*  'Excuse  me,"  declared  his  companion,  -'I  don't  want 
any  more  of  that  in  mine!" 

Not  long  after,  they  reached  the  landing  at  Terry  Sta 
tion  where  they  landed  and  were  joined  by  a  man  with 
teams  whom  Charley  had  hired  to  go  with  him  upon  the 
hunt. 

The  next  morning,  bright  and  early,  the  teams  were 
hitched  up  and  they  pulled  out  for  the  buffalo  range, 
some  thirty  miles  to  the  southward. 

Along  toward  evening,  having  reached  a  favorable 
locality,  they  went  into  camp  upon  the  bank  of  a  little 
stream  and  prepared  for  a  grand  hunt  upon  the  morrow. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    HUNT. 

Early  the  next  morning  Charley  shouldered  his 
Winchester  rifle  and  started  out  for  his  first  Buffalo  hunt. 
Climbing  the  high  bluffs  which  lead  to  the  broad  table 
lands  above,  stretching  away  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  he  beheld  a  sight  that  made  his  heart  bound  with 
a  feeling  of  joy  and  gratification;  for,  scarcely  two  miles 
away,  he  discovered  a  small  herd  of  buffaloes  quietly 
grazing  upon  the  grassy  plain. 

Walking  a  short  distance  around  to  the  lee  side — for 
he  knew  that  the  buffalo  was  a  keen  scented  animal — 
he  worked  his  way  up  to  within  a  hundred  yards  or  so, 
and  singling  out  the  finest  specimen,  sent  a  bullet  just 
back  of  his  huge,  shaggy  shoulders.  With  an  inexpress 
ible  feeling  of  joy  he  saw  that  the  great  brute  was  mor 
tally  wounded.  Again,  and  again,  he  discharged  his 
gun,  but,  seemingly,  with  no  further  effect  than  to  hasten 
their  precipitate  retreat.  But  the  first  shot  was  entirely 
satisfactory,  and,  I  must  confess,  very  credible  as  well; 
for  he  had  killed  his  first  buffalo,  and  that,  too,  with  his 
first  shot. 

As  the  great,  shaggy  fellow,  who  had  run  for  a  few 
rods,  went  down,  Charley  ran  up  to  him  and  standing 
beside  the  fallen  monster,  waved  his  hat  and,  with  an 
air  of  triumph,  shouted — 

"Ka- whoop — bully  for  us!" 

Just  then  the  report  of  fire-arms  away  off  to  the  south 
came  to  him  and  a  little  later,  the  bold  hnnter  was  over 
joyed  at  seeing  a  small  herd  of  buffalo  making 

(14) 


MY  FIRST  BUFFALO. 


THE    FIRST    BUFFALO    KILLED.  1 5 

slowly  over  the  bluffs  in  a  direction  that  would  lead  them 
not  far  from  where  he  stood. 

It  was  but  the  work  of  a  few  minutes  for  the  swift- 
footed  hunter  to  gain  a  position  directly  in  their  path, 
where,  concealing  himself  behind  a  large  rock,  he 
awaited  their  approach. 

Five  minutes  passed,  then  the  shaggy  humps  of  the 
king  of  American  game  appeared  above  the  ridge,  and  a 
moment  later  they  stood  in  full  view. 

Oh  what  a  sight  to  make  glad  the  heart  of  the  hunter! 
Scarcely  twenty  yards  away  stood  the  noble  game.  All 
unconcious  of  the  near  presence  of  his  deadly  foe,  stood 
a  lordly  bull — a  very  giant  among  his  fellows. 

' 'Ah!"  muttered  the  hunter,  his  eyes  sparkling,  his 
heart  bounding,  as  he  glanced  along  the  deadly,  shining 
barrel  of  his  gun  for  one  brief  moment.  Bang!  rang  out 
the  death  knell,  and,  as  the  red  fire  leaped  from  the 
muzzle  of  his  rifle,  the  shaggy  lord  of  the  plains  went 
down. 

Again  the  note  of  death  rang  out  and  another  went 
down;  but  almost  at  the  same  instant  came  a  report 
from  the  opposite  side  of  the  herd  and  a  bullet  passed 
through  the  crown  of  his  hat  so  close  that  it  clipped  a 
lock  of  hair  from  his  head. 

"By  ginger,"  muttered  Charley,  "that  fellow  missed 
his  mark  but  came  mighty  near  catching  me!"  But 
nothing  daunted  he  raised  his  gun  again  and  fired.  An 
other  buffalo  went  down,  and  again  came  the  sharp 
crack  of  a  rifle  from  the  other  side  of  the  herd,  which, 
undecided  which  way  to  go,  had  remained  nearly  sta 
tionary  while  the  shooting  was  going  on. 

"Oh,    arn't    this   glorious!"    muttered    the    fortunate 


l6  AN    UNSEEN    ENEMY. 

hunter;  and  he  raised  his  gun  for  a  fourth  shot,  when 
again  rang  out  that  sharp  crack  from  over  the  other  side; 
and  this  time  the  bullet  struck  the  rock  directly  in  front 
of  his  face,  filling  his  eyes  with  dirt  and,  for  a  moment, 
completely  blinding  him. 

"By  thunder,"  exclaimed  Charley,  "that  shot  was 
intended  for  me!  Ah,  my  fine  fellow,  I  can  show  you  a 
trick  worth  a  half  dozen  of  that.  And  slipping  back  a 
few  paces,  and  down  the  hill  so  that  he  would  be  out  of 
sight,  he  walked  rapidly  around  the  hill  in  a  direction 
that  soon  brought  him  upon  the  same  side,  and  behind 
the  point  from  whence  the  shots  had  been  fired  that 
came  so  near  ending  his  life.  But  nothing  of  his  unseen 
enemy  could  be  seen. 

"Ah,  he  must  have  been  up  there  among  those  rocks,'' 
mused  the  young  hunter;  "that's  just  the  position  he 
would  choose  and  it  is  just  the  point  from  whence  that 
shot  came.  By  ginger  now,  I  will  know  about  that  if  he 
is  there!"  and  crawling  silently  up  to  the  place,  he 
peered  about  among  the  rocks  but  failed  to  find  the  ob 
ject  of  his  search.  But,  after  a  close  examination,  he 
discovered  where  the  man  had  been  crouching  behind  a 
rock.  "Ah,"  he  said,  "he  must  be  a  good  shot,  for  I 
was  over  a  hundred  yards  away  and  he  couldn't  see  me, 
only  when  I  would  raise  up  to  fire.  By  thunder,"  he 
exclaimed,  examining  the  tracks,  '  'that  was  an  Indian 
so  help  me  bob!" 

A  little  further  examination  showed  that  the  Indian 
had  adopted  the  same  tactics  to  surprise  him  that  he  had 
to  surprise  the  Indian,  for  the  Indian  had  gone  around 
the  hill  in  the  same  direction  which  Charley  had  taken, 


INDIAN    STRATEGY.  I? 

and  arrived  upon  the  opposite  side  at  about  the  same 
time. 

1  'By  ginger  now,  but  this  is  getting  interesting,"  de 
clared  Charley.  No  doubt,  the  Indian  was  thinking  the 
same  from  his  side  of  the  hill,  and,  like  Charley,  won 
dering  what  to  do  next. 

Here  again,  as  before,  both  were  of  the  same  notion; 
for  Charley  determined  to  settle  the  matter  at  all 
hazards,  and,  going  around  the  hill  in  the  same  direc 
tion  taken  by  the  Indian,  he  soon  came  to  a  point  upon 
the  same  side  and  not  more  than  a  twenty  or  thirty 
yards  from  where  he  was  concealed  when  the  Indian  had 
shot  at  him. 

"By  ginger!"  he  exclaimed,  as  he  saw  how  completely 
he  would  have  been  at  the  mercy  of  his  foe  had  he  re 
mained  in  his  former  position  till  the  Indian  had  reached 
the  spot.  "Phew,  but  wouldn't  he  have  ripped  me  up 
the  back  though  if  I  had  stayed  here!  Ugh!"  he  shud 
dered,"  I  believe  I  will  go  back  to  camp.  And  suiting 
the  action  to  the  word,  he  turned  down  the  ravine,  in 
the  head  of  which  he  was  standing,  and  started  for 
camp. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    BURNING    CAMP. 

Walking  rapidly  down  the  ravine,  Charley,  in  the 
course  of  half  an  hour,  came  out  upon  a  high  hill  over 
looking  the  valley  in  which  his  camp  was  situated. 

Before  reaching  the  summit  of  the  ridge  from  whence 
his  camp  could  be  seen,  he  had  noticed  a  column  of 
white  smoke  rising  above  the  hill-top  and  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  camp  which  caused  him  to  quicken  his  pace. 
Hurrying  on  and  wondering  what  was  the  meaning  of  it, 
he  saw,  as  he  stood  upon  the  hill,  a  sight  which  caused 
him  to  pause  with  a  feeling  of  horror  at  his  heart  that 
would  be  hard  to  describe.  Before  him,  stretched  out 
the  broad  valley  of  O'Fallan  creek,  and  not  a  half  mile 
away,  where  he  had  left  his  little  camp,  was  now  but  a 
smouldering  pile  of  embers. 

"By  thunder,"  cried  Charley  excitedly,  "I  wonder  if 
those  Indians  have  surprised  the  boys  and  killed  them 
and  then  plundered  and  burned  the  camp?  I  can't  see 
anything  of  the  boys  nor  the  Indians,  but  there's  the 
horses;  they  havn't  meddled  with  them — ah,  by  gum, 
now,  I  wonder  if  they  are  lying  in  ambush  awaiting  my 
return."  But  not  a  trace  of  anyone  could  be  seen. 
"What  does  it  mean?"  he  wondered;  "what  the  deuce 
is  to  pay  anyway?  By  ginger,  now,  but  I  will  solve  this 
riddle,  so  help  me  bob!" 

As  we  have  already  stated,  Charley  Shipton  was  not 
only  brave,  but  daring,  and,  at  times,  even  approaching 
recklessness.  At  that  time  and  under  the  then  existing 
circumstances,  it  was  indeed  not  much  short  of  reckless- 

(18) 


A  "  RED  DEVIL. 


A    MYSTERY.  1 9 

ness  that  prompted  him  to  the  bold  move  that  he  made; 
for  quickly  descending  the  high  bluff,  he  strode  boldly 
across  the  valley  to  the  camp. 

But  there  were  no  Indians  waiting  in  ambush  there. 
Had  there  been,  this  story  would  not  have  been  written, 
and  this  "Summer  Vacation"  would  have  come  to  an 
untimely  end. 

Not  a  trace  of  the  Indians  was  to  be  seen;  nor  could 
he  tell  to  any  certainty  whether  the  camp  had  been 
plundered  or  not,  as  everything  was  burned. 

"By  ginger,"  muttered  Charley,  -'I  can't  make  this 
out!  Why  the  dickens  didn't  they  take  the  horses  too? 
But  perhaps  they  couldn't  catch  them — lucky  for  us 
anyway.  But  where's  the  boys?  what — ah,  here  they 
come!"  he  exclaimed,  as  his  two  companions  appeared, 
coming  from  down  the  valley. 

Neither  of  them  had  seen  anything  of  the  Indians,  but 
a  careful  examination  showed  them  the  moccasin  tracks 
of  a  half  dozen  or  so  of  them. 

"Oh,  but  I  would  like  to  make  them  pay  for  this, 
though,"  declared  Charley. 

'  'We'd  better  get  out  of  this  before  they  return  and 
take  our  scalps,"  suggested  the  others,  evincing  no  little 
alarm. 

Much  as  Charley  would  like  to  have  had  another  day's 
hunt,  he  could  not  persuade  the  others  to  stay  any 
longer;  so  they  brought  up  the  horses  and  went  some 
ten  miles  west  where  they  went  into  camp  for  the 
night. 

As  it  wanted  a  couple  of  hours  yet  till  sun-set,  Charley 
took  his  gun  and  went  out  in  the  hope  of  finding  another 


2O  .    A    "RED    DEVIL". 

buffalo,  but  in  this  he  was  disappointed;   so  taking  down 
a  deep  canon,  he  started  to  return  to  camp. 

Following  the  canon  for  some  two  miles,  he  turned  a 
bend  in  the  canon  and  came  suddenly  upon  an  Indian 
encampment.  There  were  a  dozen  or  more  wigwams 
and  a  score  of  painted  savages. 

Just  as  he  came  in  sight,  an  Indian  rode  into  camp 
from  down  the  canon,  and  by  his  excited  manner  it  was 
plainly  evident  that  he  had  discovered  the  hunter's  camp, 
which  \vas  only  about  two  miles  below. 

"By  thunder, "exclaimed Charley,  "those  are  the  same 
fellows  that  burnt  my  camp!  Look  at  that  red  devil, 
he's  got. my  Sunday  coat  on,  and  my  boots. — Oh,  you 
dirty  devil,  how  I  would  like  to  send  a  bullet  through 
your  hide!  They've  discovered  our  camp,  I  know  from 
that  fellows  actions — I  wonder  what  they  will  do  any 
way?  They  look  ugly  enough  to  do  anything.  By  ginger 
now,  if  they  were  to  take  into  their  heads  to  attack  us, 
they'd  have  our  scalps  dangliug  on  their  lodge  poles  be 
fore  morning.  Ugh,"  he  shuddered,  "I  ain't  quite  ready 
yet.  I  want  to  live  long  enough  to  finish  out  my  sum 
mer's  vacation.  By  gum  now,  I've  dreamed  of  all  this, 
and  thought  how  romantic  and  grand  it  would  be  to 
beard  the  'noble  red  man'  in  his  native  wilds;  but,  durn 
my  skin,  if  those  devils  don't  look  ugly!"  And  he  began 
to  cast  about  for  a  way  to  make  his  escape  unseen,  with 
out  going  back  the  way  he  came. 

"Yes,"  he  mused,  "I  believe  I  can  creep  up  through 
that  little  gully  yonder  and  cross  the  ridge  without  being 
seen,  unless  some  of  them  happen  to  come  this  way. 
'Spect  I'd  better  do  it."  And  shaking  his  fist  at  the 
Indians  he  stole  silently  away  and  was  soon  making  his 


A   STRUGGLE    FOR   LIFE.  21 

way  up  through  the  water-worn  gully.  Nearly  half  way 
up  he  was  arrested  by  hearing  approaching  footsteps 
from  above.  It  wa"s  so  dark  in  the  deep  gully,  that  one 
could  see  but  a  few  yards,  but  as  the  person  was  above 
him,  his  dark  form  was  outlined  against  the  sky,  which 
showed  plainly  to  the  hunter  that  the  approaching  form 
was  that  of  an  Indian,  returning  to  camp. 

''By  ginger,"  muttered  Charley,  "I  am  in  for  it  now, 
whether  I  want  to  or  not!  D — d  if  I  will  go  back — can't 
get  out  on  either  side — ain't  room  for  us  to  pass  by  each 
other,  and  I  won't  lie  down  for  him  to  pass  over  me,  nor 
will  he,  for  me  to  pass  over  him.  By  gum!"  muttered 
Charley. 

"Ugh!"  grunted  the  Indian,  and  a  moment  more,  the 
two  men  were  locked  in  a  deadly  embrace. 

Charley  Shipton  was  a  powerful,  athletic  man,  fully 
six  feet  in  height,  nimble  and  wiry  as  a  cat;  but  in  spite 
of  his  Herculean  strength  and  athletic  training,  he  was 
met  in  every  move  and  foiled  in  every  attempt,  by  the 
wily  savage. 

Not  a  word  was  uttered  by  either;  but  now  the  heavy, 
labored  breathing  told  but  too  plainly  of  the  awful 
strain  upon  those  sinews  of  steel. 

"Ugh!"  grunted  the  savage  at  last,  reaching  for  his 
knife.  This  act  gave  Charley  the  long  looked  for  ad 
vantage,  and  with  one  mighty  effort  he  hurled  the  sav 
age  head-long  down  the  steep  gully.  Bounding  from 
rock  to  rock,  then  whirling  through  the  air.  he  fell  with 
a  dull,  sickening  thud  upon  the  jagged  rocks  below. 

"Cratch-at-hemlock!"  panted  the  triumphant  hunter, 
as  that  sickening  sound  came  up  from  below;  and,  with 


22  SAFE    IN    CAMP. 

a  shudder,  he  turned  and  continued  up  the  gully.  Paus 
ing  for  a  moment,  as  he  emerged  upon  the  bluff,  to 
satisfy  himself  that  no  one  was  'following  him,  he 
resumed  his  retreat  and  soon  after  reached  camp. 

"What  do  you  think,  boys,"  he  asked  after  telling  his 
adventure,  "do  you  think  that  they  will  meddle 
with  us?" 

"Bet  your  life  they'll  meddle  with  us,  if  they  find  out 
that  we  are  here,  and  especially  if  you  killed  that 
fellow!" 

"Killed  him!  I'll  bet  there  wasn't  a  whole  bone  left  in 
his  body.  But  they  won't  know  it — they'll  think  he 
fell.  If  he  is  killed,  it's  all  right,  but  if  he's  alive,  the 
devil  will  be  to  pay." 

D — n  their  hides,"  exclaimed  one,  "I  know  what's 
up;  they'll  wait  till  night  and  then  make  an  attack  upon 
us,  run  off  our  stock  and,  perhaps,  put  a  bullet  through 
our  skins,  just  to  be  a  doing." 

"By  gum,"  cried  Charley,  "I  don't  like  to  be  ruu  off 
like  this!" 

"We'd  better  git,"  declared  the  other  two,  so  nothiug 
was  left  but  to  go,  which  they  immediately  did,  arriving 
the  next  morning  at  the  station. 

That  evening,  while  sitting  in  a  billiard  hall,  Charley's 
curiosity  was  aroused  by  the  queer  actions  of  an  old 
man  who  had  entered  at  about  the  same  time  that 
he  had. 

The  keen,  practical  eye  of  the  young  detective  told 
him  at  a  glance  that  the  old  man  was  working  some 
scheme — was,  in  all  probability,  a  detective,  and  was 
shadowing  some  one. 


A   FORTUNATE   OCCURENCE.  23 

* 'By  jinks!"  mused  Charley,  "I  will  see,  just  for  fun, 
what  the  old  fellow  is  up  to."  And  a  very  fortunate 
thing  for  the  old  man,  too,  it  proved  to  be,  as  the 
developments  of  a  few  hours  later  showed. 


CAAPTER  IV. 

A   HARD    CASE. 

At  about  ten  o'clock  the  old  man  arose  to  go,  and,  as 
he  went  out,  a  man  who  had  been  sitting  reading  a 
newspaper,  carelessly  threw  his  paper  down,  arose  and 
left  also.  There  was  nothing  peculiar  about  this,  but 
somehow,  Charley  noticed  the  act,  and  could  but  think 
that  the  old  man  leaving  had  sometning  to  do  with  it. 

"At  any  rate,"  mused  Charley,  as  he  followed  the 
man  out,  "I'll  see  what  he's  up  to."  And  following  the 
man  for  a  short  distance,  he  became  aware  that  he  (the 
man  whom  he  was  following)  was  also  following  some 
one  else — that  one,  he  believed,  was  the  old  man. 

Just  out  from  the  station  a  little  ways  was  a  large 
house,  and  to  this  house  the  old  man  went.  The  house 
was  situated  among  a  grove  of  large  trees  which  partially 
hid  it  from  view  and,  at  the  same  time,  offered  a  shelter 
to  the  old  man  who  had  worked  his  way  around  to  the 
rear  of  the  house  and  was  scanning  it  closely. 

At  this  stage  of  the  game,  the  object  of  the  man  whom 
Charley  was  following,  was  plainly  shown;  for,  with  the 
the  stealthiness  of  a  cat  the  man  crawled  upon  his 
victim,  and  in  a  moment,  had  grappled  with  him. 

Struggling  desperately,  the  old  man  endeavored  to 
free  himself  from  his  assailant,  but  without  avail.  Taken 
at  a  great  disadvantage,  besides  being  the  weaker  of  the 
two,  the  old  man  would  soou  have  been  disposed  of,  had 
not  a  timely  aud  unlocked  for  interference  arrested  the 
hand  of  the  would-be  assassin. 

Locked  in  each  others  embrace  they  staggered  and  fell. 
The  old  man  was  quickly  at  the  mercy  of  his  opponent, 

(24) 


A  DETECTIVE  CAUGHT. 


A   DETECTIVE   CAUGHT.  2$ 

who,  grappling  his  throat  with  his  left  hand,  drew  an 
ugly  looking  knife  and,  raising  it  aloof,  he  hissed — 

"Curse  you  !  you  have  reached  the  end  of  this  trail, 
just  as  many  smarter  men  than  you  have  done  before. 
You  have  undertaken  a  hard  case — too  hard  for  you!" 

As  he  uttered  these  words,  he  aimed  a  blow  full  at  the 
old  man's  breast.  But  the  knife  never  descended  —  the 
hand  was  grasped  in  the  vise-like  grip  of  Charley's  strong 
hand,  while  with  one  mighty  effort  he  hurled  the  man 
to  the  ground  and  then,  turning  to  the  old  man.  he 
asked — 

"Are  you  hurt?" 

"No."  he  replied,  rising  to  his  feet. 

"Well,  you  would  have  been  presently,  I  think,  from 
the  way  that  he  was  operating. " 

"Do  you  know  who  he  was?"  asked  the  old  man. 

"No,"  replied  Charley,   "I  don't  know  him." 

"Do  you  live  here?" 

"No,"  replied  Charley,  "I  am  just  stopping  here  for 
a  little.  But  come  down  to  camp  with  me,  my  friend. 
I  would  like  to  talk  a  little  with  you.  You  are  a 
detective,  I  think — so  am  I,  and  I  am  off  on  a  vaca 
tion—" 

"Ah!"  interrupted  the  old  man,  "and  to  that  fact,  I 
presume,  I  owe  my  life.  Well,  it  was  lucky  for  me  at 
any  rate." 

"Yes,"  said  Charley,  he  had  you  foul;  but  come,  let's 
be  off  before  he  returns  with  help." 

And,  together,  they  went  down  to  Charley's  camp. 

"I  will  tell  you  about  this  business,"  said  the  old 
man.  "I  have  been  working  this  case  for  a  little  over 


26  AFTER   THE   FORGER. 

a  year.  But  to  begin  at  the  beginning.  Two  years  ago 
James  Barnes,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  New  York,  failing 
in  business,  sought  to  retrieve  his  lost  fortune  by  forgery. 
Checks  to  the  amount  of  several  thousand  dollars  were 
forged  and  for  a  long  time,  so  skillful  was  the  work 
done,  that  it  escaped  detection.  Barnes  himself  did  not 
do  the  work,  but  he  handled  the  forged  checks.  The 
work  was  done  by  his  daughter,  a  girl  of  some  fifteen 
years  of  age .  The  case  was  brought  to  us  two  years 
ago,  and  work  was  begun  immediately;  and  so  persistent 
and  so  hard  did  they  press  him,  that  he  and  his  daughter 
disappeared.  Since  I  took  the  case  by  myself,  I  have 
traced  him  to  this  country.  But  I  have  lost  the  trail 
here.  But  I've  struck  another.  There  are  two  families 
of  these  Barnes'.  The  other  family  broke  up  in  Cincin 
nati  at  about  the  same  time  that  this  one  did.  He  came 
here  too,  and  is  now  engaged  in  counterfeiting.  He  has 
two  sons,  who  have  been  engaged  in  the  business  for 
several  years.  So,  you  see,  it  is  a  hard  case. 

"But  this  first  Barnes,  do  you  think  that  he  is  con 
nected  with  the  other  in  this  business?"  asked  Charley. 

"No  doubt  of  it." 

"And  you  have  lost  track  of  him,   you  say?" 

"Yes." 

"Do  you  think  that  there's  anything  here?" 

"No,  I  am  pretty  certain  that  they  are  at  Miles  City 
now." 

"Then  you  will  go  up  there,  I  suppose?"  asked 
Charley. 

"Yes,  and  I  would  like  to  have  you  go  with  me,  too," 
he  replied. 


TEN    THOUSAND    RE  WAD.  2  7 

"All  right,  I  will  go.  I  am  going  west,  and  as  long 
as  the  trail  leads  that  way,  I  don't  mind  trying  them  a 
little." 

*  'There's  a  reward  of  ten  thousand  dollars  offered  for 
the  girl  and  her  father.  Perhaps  that  this  case  here  will 
throw  some  light  on  the  other. " 

So  it  was  decided,  and  a  half  hour  later  they  took  the 
train  for  Miles  City. 

On  entering  the  passenger  coach,  Charley  walked 
down  the  aisle,  looking  for  a  seat,  as  the  coach  was  full. 
At  last  he  found  a  seat  with  but  one  occupant — a  beauti 
ful  girl  of  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age. 

"Do  you  object?"  laughed  Charley,  as  he  sat  down 
beside  her. 

"Don't  think  it  would  do  any  good  if  I  did,"  she 
laughed;  and  her  larje,  blue  eyes  sparkled  mischiev 
ously  as  she  met  Chariey's  admiring  glance. 

Chatting  pleasantly,  the  time  passed  quickly  and 
almost  before  they  were  aware  of  it,  Miles  Ciiy  was 
announced. 


CHAAPTER  V. 

TRAPPED. 

"Do  you  stop  here?"  asked  Charley  of  his  companion 
as  the  train  stopped  at  the  station . 

"Yes,"  replied  the  girl,    "do  you?" 

'  'Yes, "  he  answered,  '  'have  you  some  one  with  you, 
or — 

"Yes,  yes,"  interrupted  the  girl,  casting  a  sly  glance 
into  his  face;  and  then  said  quickly:  "perhaps  we  may 
meet  again — good  bye. " 

"By  ginger,"  mused  Charley,  "but  she's  a  beauty  and 
a  regular  little  minx  too.  By  jingoes  now,  I  almost 
wish  I  was  agoing  to  stay  here  awhile  —  I  would  like  to 
get  acquainted  with  her." 

Little  did  he  dream  how  soon  he  would  get  acquainted 
with  her  and  the  part  that  she  was  destined  to  play  in 
his  'summer's  vacation'. 

Three  days  after  reaching  the  town  their  man  was 
located  at  a  house  in  the  outskirts  of  town — a  house,  as 
they  learned,  that  was  somewhat  noted.  For  several 
years  it  had  been  suspected  of  being  the  hiding  place  of 
a  gang  of  counterfeiters. 

Now  that  they  had  located  their  man,  it  remained  for 
them  to  capture  him. 

"How  do  you  propose  to  work  him,  Mr.  Smith?" 
asked  Charley. 

"I  want  to  make  a  raid  on  the  place — I  think  there's 
a  regular  gang  of  them  here,  and  I  want  to  capture  all 
of  them  and  their  outfit  too.  I  have  arranged  with  the 
sheriff  and  his  posse  who  are  ready  and  awaiting  our 

(28) 


IN  THE  COUNTERFEITER'S  DEN. 


RAIDING   THE    FORGER.  29 

signal.  The  sheriff  told  me  that  the  first  house  was 
built  there  ten  years  ago.  Since  then  it  has  been  burned 
down  and  rebuilt  three  times.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest 
houses  in  town.  The  town  had  always  been  infested 
with  burglars  and  counterfeiters  and  it  was  believed,  that 
this  house  was  their  headquarters;  yet  it  had  always 
escaped  detection.  Three  times  it  had  burned  down 
while  being  searched." 

So,  as  it  was  all  arranged,  they  set  about  watching 
for  an  opportunity  to  make  the  raid — an  opportunity, 
which  soon  arrived;  for  that  very  evening  the  man  whom 
they  had  spotted  was  run  to  the  house  and  the  signal 
given  for  the  attack. 

The  sheriff  stationed  his  men  so  that  it  would  be  im 
possible  for  anyone  to  make  their  escape  from  the  house; 
and  then  the  old  man,  Charley,  the  sheriff  and  his 
deputy  approached  the  door  and  knocked. 

The  door  opened,  and  a  man  appeared  and  very 
politely  enquired  their  business. 

"Oh!"  he  exclaimed,  and  then  said  politely:  "Come 
in,  gentlemen,  come  in.  I  will  render  you  all  the  aid 
possible." 

From  garret  to  cellar  the  house  was  searched .  Not 
a  crack  nor  crevice  but  what  was  pried  into  in  hope 
of  finding  some  secret  passage.  Twice  they  returned  to 
the  cellar,  but  all  efforts  to  discover  anything  availed 
nothing.  But  Charley  was  not  satisfied;  somehow  he 
felt  that  there  was  some  secret  hiding  place  about  the 
house  and  he  believed  it  to  be  in  the  cellar. 

The  cellar  contained  but  one  room — a  large,  square 
room  with  a  chimney  support  in  the  centre,  and  a  pile 


3O  SEARCHING   THE    CELLAR. 

of  boxes,  barrels  and  other  rubbish  in  one  corner. 
There  was  a  peculiarity  about  the  cellar,  and  that  was 
a  plank  floor. 

"What  is  that  floor  for  anyway?"  mused  Charley,  as 
they  left  the  house.  "By  ginger  now,  I  don't  like  the 
result  of  this  search  a  bit.  Say!"  he  said,  addressing 
the  old  man,  '  'did  you  notice  anything  unusual  about 
that  cellar?" 

"No,"  he  replied. 

"But  that  floor  and  that  chimney  support— 

'  'I  examined  every  crack  in  that  floor  and  the  chim 
ney  support  too,"  interrupted  the  old  man. 

"Well,"  replied  Charley,  "I  ain't  just  satisfied,  I 
would  like  to  search  that  cellar  again.  That  chimney 
support  appears  to  me  to  offer  a  clue  to  some  secret 
hiding  place." 

"I  didn't  notice  anything  peculiar  about  it,"  said  the 
old  man.  "A  sort  of  cupboard,  that's  all.  But  what 
do  you  think?"  he  asked,  as  they  stopped,  still  within 
sight  of  the  house  and  in  a  position  where  they  could  see 
anyone  passing  to  or  from  the  house. 

As  they  were  standing  thus,  convsrsing,  a  gentleman 
and  lady  entered  the  house,  but  no  one  had  left  it. 

"Let's  go  and  examine  that  cellar  again,"  said 
Charley, 

So  back  they  went.  The  people  were  just  as  polite 
as  before;  the  only  difference  was,-  there  were  three  men 
and  two  women  now  instead  of  two  men  and  one  woman 
as  before. 

To  Charley's  surprise  he  beheld  the  beautiful  girl 
whom  he  had  met  on  the  train.  She  greeted  him  with 


LOOKING  FOR  A  TRAP  DOOR.  31 

a  look  of  injured  surprise  and  reproach  and,  to  Charley, 
seemed  rather  pale  aud  anxious. 

Down  into  the  cellar  they  went,  accompanied  by  the 
three  men.  Everything  was  just  as  before,  nothing  had 
been  disturbed. 

It  had  been  arranged  that,  at  a  signal  from  the  old 
man,  they  were  to  draw  their  revolvers  and  demand  the 
surrender  of  the  three  men  and  then  to  proceed  with  the 
search. 

As  they  entered  the  cellar,  the  three  men  leading,  the 
old  man,  in  a  stern  voice,  demanded  the  immediate  sur 
render  of  the  men.  For  a  moment  they  hesitated,  but 
looking  into  the  muzzles  of  a  half  dozen  revolvers,  they 
deemed  it  policy  to  obey.  They  were  placed  in  charge 
of  two  men  and  sent  up  stairs  to  await  the  result  of  the 
search. 

"Now  for  the  search!"  said  the  old  man;  and  he  be 
gan  examining  the  chimney  support.  In  the  examina 
tion  several  peculiarities  were  discovered.  It  was  just 
the  width  of  two  planks  and  fitted  nicely  over  the  cracks 
in  the  floor,  and  was  about  three  feet  long. 

Somehow  the  notion  that  there  was  a  trap  door  under 
it  had  got  into  Cbariey's  head.  But  all  efforts  to  move 
it,  failed,  and  to  all  apperances  it  was  perfectly  station 
ary  and  had  never  been  moved. 

They  were  about  to  give  up  again  when,  chancing  to 
look  up  at  the  top  of  the  support,  Charley  saw  that 
some  of  the  nails  were  not  driven  quite  in — a  very  small 
thing,  but  sometimes  small  things  lead  to  great  results. 
So  in  this;  for,  hardly  thinking  what  he  was  doing, 
Charley  reached  up  and  took  hold  of  one  of  the  nails— 


32  IN   THE   COUNTERFEITER^    DEN. 

it  was  perfectly  loose  and  came  out  •asily.  All  the  rest 
were  removed  in  the  same  way,  whan,  to  their  surprise, 
they  found  that  the  support  moved  easily. 

On  moving  it  to  one  side,  a  trap  door  was  discovered 
which  raised  easily,  disclosing  a  flight  of  steps  that  led 
down  into  a  dark,  narrow  passage  below. 

Down  into  the  passage  they  went,  with  guns  in  read 
iness,  alert  and  careful. 

A  heavy  plank  door  closed  the  passage,  but  fortun 
ately,  or  rather  unfortunately,  it  was  not  fastened — 
strange  too,  but  they  took  no  further  notice  of  it.  Push 
ing  the  door  open,  they  entered  a  small  room  where  they 
found  all  the  necessary  tools  and  fixtures  of  the  burglars 
and  counterfeiter's  art,  together  with  some  thousands  of 
dollars  of  counterfeit  money.  But  the  man  was  not 
there. 

"Can  it  be  possible  that  he  has  eluded  us?"  asked  the 
old  man.  "He  certainly  has  occupied  this  room,  and 
that  too  while  we  were  searching  the  house.  I — " 

' 'Listen!',  whispered  Charley,  "I  heard  something;  it 
sounded  like  footsteps  on  the  stairs."  But  listening 
again  they  heard  nothing. 

The  old  man  went  up  to  the  head  of  the  stairs,  but 
seeing  nothing,  returned  and  began  searching  the  room. 

"It  must  have  been  a  rat,"  he  said.  "There's  no  one 
above;  the  door  leading  up  stairs  is  locked,  so  that  no 
one  could  get  out  or  in. " 

Just  then  he  noticed  a  place  beneath  the  stairs — the 
only  place  that  they  had  not  searched,  but  there  was  no 
one  there,  though  there  was  plenty  of  room  for  a  man 
to  hide. 


TRAPPED.  33 

"You  are  sure,  are  you,  that  there  is  no  place  above 
where  he  could  have  hid  from  you?"  asked  Charley. 

"Yes,  I  am  sure,"  replied  the  old  man.  "There 
was  but  one  place  and  that  was  behind  the  support — I 
looked  there." 

"But  the  trap  door,  did  you — " 

"God!"  cried  the  old  man,  as  if  he  had  been  shot. 
«!__" 

Down  went  the  trap  door  with  a  bang  and  before  they 
could  reach  it,  the  chimney  support  was  in  place  and  the 
door  fastened. 

"Trapped,  by  thunder!"  ejaculated  Charley,  after 
satisfying  himself  that  the  door  was  immovable. 

"My  God,"  exclaimed  the  old  man  in  vexation.  "I 
never  thought  of  that  trap  door!  He  must  have  been 
been  behind  it;  but  how  did  he  dodge  us? ' 

"Dodge  us!"  said  Charley;  "he  was  in  that  hole 
under  the  stairs,  and  while  we  were  searching  the  room, 
he  stole  out.  Yes,  we  were  too  anxious  to  find  the  end 
of  the  passage  and  thus  went  by  his  hiding  place  without 
seeing  it.  Oh,  we  are  trapped  all  right  enough. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

RESCUED. 

"Well,  I  reckon  there's  nothing  for  it  but  to  wait  till 
our  men  above  get  tired  of  waiting  for  us  and  come  down 
to  see  what's  up  with  us.  No  need  to  feel  alarmed,  I 
think,  for  they'll  soon  begin  to  get  uneasy  about  us;  so 
we  can  just  take  our  time  to  examine  this  place. 

The  room  was  small  and  nearly  square .  A  few  chairs, 
a  table,  a  bench,  forge  and  a  complete  set  of  burglars' 
tools,  dies  and  plates  for  counterfeiting,  together  with 
several  other  articles  and  several  bundles  of  counterfeit 
money,  both  paper  and  coin,  made  up  the  list  of  things 
found. 

They  saw  plainly  enough  that  their  man  had  been 
concealed  beneath  the  stairs  when  they  came  down,  but 
in  their  excitement  they  had  overlooked  him. 

They  had  almost  forgotten  their  imprisonment,  so 
interested  were  they  in  examining  the  many  curious 
things  that  they  found,  until  their  attention  was  called 
to  the  fact  by  a  strong  smell  of  smoke. 

4 'By  thunder!"  cried  Charley,  sniffing  the  air;  and 
then  he  remembered  what  the  sheriff  had  told  them 
about  how  the  house  had  been  burned  three  times  before 
while  being  searched.  A  startling  state  of  affairs,  to  be 
sure;  but  what  could  be  done?  "What  can  it  mean?" 
asked  Charley. 

"Mean,"  sputtered  the  old  man,  "it  means  that  un 
less  help  comes  pretty  soon,  we  will  be  roasted  alive!" 

"That's  what!"  declared  Charley.  "See!  the  smoke 
is  coming  in  through  those  little  holes  up  there  in  the 
wall.  I  wonder  if  I  can't  stop  them  up  and  keep  the 

(34) 


"UNLESS  HELP  COMES  WE  WILL  BE  ROASTED  ALIVE. 


DOOMED   TO    BE    BURNED.  35 

smoke  out.  By  ginger,  we'll  be  suffocated  directly!" 
And  climbing  up  to  the  holes,  evidently  used  for  ventila 
tion,  he  peered  within  and  was  horrified  at  seeing  the 
flames  not  far  above.  Burning  embers  began  to  fall 
down  and  the  roar  of  the  flames  were  now  plainly 
heard. 

In  blank  amazement  the  two  men  stood,  staring  at 
each  other.  What  could  they  do?  Perfectly  helpless, 
neither  could  offer  any  suggestion.  The  smoke,  by  this 
time,  had  become  well-nigh  suffocating. 

"Great  heavens!"  cried  the  old  man  in  his  despair, 
4 'is  it  possible  that  something  has  happened  to  our 
friends  above  and  we  are  left  to  perish  in  such  a  miser 
able  trap  as  this?  I  have  been  in  the  business  for  fifteen 
years,  and  in  all  kinds  of  places,  but  this  takes  the  cake! 
How  did  this  all  come  about,  anyway?" 

"Oh!"  they  have  set  the  house  on  fire  to  enable  them 
to  escape,"  replied  Charley. 

"Ah!  I  see  now,"  said  the  old  man.  "This  place 
has  never  been  found  before,  or,  if  it  has,  the  knowledge 
of  it  has  been  buried  with  the  unfortunate  cuss  who 
perished  here,  as  we  will.  Yes,  yes;  of  course,  when 
the  house  burns  down,  the  passage  to  this  place  will  be 
filled  with  ashes  and  no  one  would  ever  suspect  that 
such  a  place  existed.  But  how  did  it  happen?  can  it  be 
that  our  friends  have  deserted  us?  they  certainly  must 
have  discovered  the  fire  long  before  this . " 

"No  doubt,  it  was  the  man  who  escaped  from  us  here. 
He  set  fire  to  that  pile  of  rubbish  in  the  cellar — that 
stuff  was  there  for  that  very  purpose,"  declared  our 
young  friend. 

"But  our  friends!  have  they  deserted  us?" 


36  RESCUED. 

Just  then  the  tramping  of  men  was  heard  above,  fol 
lowed  by  shouts  and  blows  upon  the  floor  and  walls,  as 
if  in  search  of  some  hidden  passage. 

Quickly  ascending  the  stairs,  the  two  entrapped  men 
endeavored  to  make  their  presence  known  by  shouting 
and  pounding  upon  the  trap  door. 

The  signal  was  heard,  for,  in  a  moment,  heavy  blows 
sounded  above  and,  though  it  seemed  an  age  to  the 
nearly  suffocated  men  below,  the  door  was  hewn  from  its 
hinges  and  gave  way. 

A  deluge  of  water  poured  in  upon  them  as  the  door 
opened,  for  it  was  only  by  continuously  throwing  water 
upon  the  men,  that  they  were  enabled  to  work  at  all  in 
the  terrible  heat  of  the  fire . 

The  sheriff  and  his  deputy,  who  were  guarding  the 
prisoners  above,  had  not  discovered  the  fire  till  it  was 
seen  from  the  outside  and  the  alarm  given. 

The  prisoners,  of  course,  took  advantage  of  the 
exitement  and  made  their  escape,  so  nothing  remained 
but  to  take  up  the  trail  and  follow  them  up. 

The  finding  of  the  trail  was  not  an  easy  matter;  but, 
fortunately,  enough  was  learned  to  convince  them  that 
their  man  had  gone  west.  The  old  man  had  learned 
before  that  they  operated  at  Bozeman  as  well  as  at 
Miles,  and  he  believed  that  they  would  go  there;  so 
they  decided  to  go  to  Bozeman  without  delay. 


A  FRIGHTENED  COUPLE. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

KITTY    BARNES. 

The  journey  up  the  river  to  Bozeman  was  a  pleasant 
one;  and  the  days  passed  so  quickly  that  they  reached 
their  journey's  end  almost  before  they  were  aware  of  it. 

They  found  Bozeman  to  be  like  all  western  frontier 
towns:  gambling  dens,  saloons,  and  dance  halls  upon 
every  hand. 

Not  long  after  reaching  the  city,  a  clew  which  led  to 
the  discovery  of  the  hiding  place  of  a  regular  band  of 
outlaws  was  found.  It  happened  this  way: 

One  evening,  some  two  days  after  arriving  at  Boze 
man,  Charley  was  walking  along  the  street  when  some 
one  called  to  him — 

"Hellow  there,  old  fellow,"  he  said,    "how  are  you?" 

"All  right,"  replied  Charley  dryly. 

"Guess  you  recognize  me?" 

"Well  no,  not  hardly,"  replied  Charley,  wondering 
what  kind  of  a  game  the  fellow  was  trying  to  run 
on  him. 

Don't  you  remember  that  little  affair  down  at  Miles 
City,  where  we  pulled  you  out  of  that  burning  buildiug? 
I  was  one  of  them." 

"No,'  replied  Charley,  "I  don't  remember — guess 
you  must  be  mistaken  in  your  man — I  don't  remember 
you  at  any  rate,"  thought  Charley. 

"Beg  pardon  then,"  said  the  fellow;  "I  thought  that 
you  were  the  man.  Well,  it's  my  treat — come  in  here 
and  wet  up  a  little  on  that,"  he  said  and  led  the  way 
into  a  saloon. 

"By  thunder,"  mused  Charley,  as  he  followed  his  new 

(37) 


38  CHARLEY   AND    KITTY. 

found  friend  into  the  crowded  saloon,  "I  will  see  what 
his  game  is." 

"Here,  have  a  drink,"  said  the  fellow,  raising  his 
glass. 

"Don't  drink,"  said  Charley. 

"Smoke  then?" 

"Nor  smoke." 

"Let's  have  a  game,  then,  just  to  pass  away  the 
time." 

"I  never  play." 

"Well,  I  never!"  exclaimed  the  fellow;  and  turning 
away  in  disgust,  at  what  he  deemed  such  a  verdant 
greenhorn,  he  left  Charley  altogether  at  a  loss  to  under 
stand  what  was  up.  But  he  was  destined  soon  to  learn. 
The  fellow  had  played  his  part  and  now  it  remained  for 
another  to  carry  it  out . 

"Mr.  Shipton?"  and  a  light  hand  was  placed  upon 
Charley's  shoulder.  "Charley  Shipton,  I  believe?"  came 
in  a  low,  sweet  voice  that  trembled  with  some  inward 
emotion. 

"Yes,"  said  Charley,  and  turning  quickly  to  face  his 
new  enemy — for  enemy  he  certainly  must  be.  "Gosh!" 
he  exclaimed,  as  his  gaze  rested  upon  the  pale,  beautiful 
face  of  his  former  companion  upon  the  train;  the  same 
that  he  had  seen  at  the  house  in  Miles  City.  "Beg 
pardon,"  he  said,  and  held  out  his  hand  to  her. 

"Is  your  name  Charley  Shipton,  sir?"  she  asked, 
placing  her  little,  soft  hand  in  his  broad,  brown  palm. 

"Yes,"  answered  Charley.  "Didn't  I  tell  you  my 
name  that  night  on  the  train?" 

"No,"  she  answered,    "I  wouldn't  tell  you  mine,   so 


A    NOTE.  39 

you  wouldn't  tell  me  yours.  But  here's  a  note."  And 
she  placed  a  piece  of  paper  in  his  hand. 

The  note  read:  "Friend  Charley. — Come  to  me  quick; 
I  am  in  trouble  and  must  have  help.  I  have  located  our 
man.  I  send  this  by  Kitty,  the  saloon  girl.  Follow  her 
and  she  will  show  you  the  way— 

4 'Who  gave  you  this?"  asked  Charley. 

"I  don't  know,"  she  answered  evasively. 

"Where  is  he?" 

"Come  with  me,  and  I  will  show  you." 

"No,  you  must  tell  me  first." 

"He  is  back  in  the  distillery." 

"Distillery — " 

"Sh — some  one  might  hear  you.  Come  with  me," 
she  said  anxiously. 

"All  right!  Let's  get  out  of  here,  I  want  to  talk  with 
you. " 

"Follow  me  then."  And  she  led  the  way  toward  the 
door  in  the  rear  end  of  the  saloon. 

"Not  that  way,"  said  Charley. 

"Yes,  yes,  come  along;  we  can't  go  out  the  front 
door,  some  one  is  watching  us." 

"They  can't  stop  us!"  said  Charley,  with  a  frown. 

"But  they  can  stop  me,"  replied  the  girl  anxiously. 

"No—" 

"Yes,  they  can,"  interrupted  the  girl.  "My  father 
and  brother  are  here;  come  on,  please,  I  want  to  tell 
you  something." 

"But  won't  they  follow  us?" 

"Not  for  a  little  while;  come  with  me  and  I  will  tell 
you  just  as  soon  as  we  are  out  of  sight."  And  she  led 
the  way  to  the  door. 


40  AT  THE   DANCE. 

No  one  seemed  to  take  any  especial  notice  of  them, 
as  they  passed  out  of  the  hall  and  closed  the  door  be 
hind  them.  Here  Charley  found  himself  in  a  large 
dance  hall.  Though  it  was  early,  a  few  couples  had 
already  entered  the  hall,  and  were  strolling  about  or 
sitting,  chatting  with  one  another. 

"We  will  wait  till  the  dance  begins,"  said  the  girl, 
"and  then  we  will  go." 

"But  you  can  tell  me  your  story;  no  one  will  hear  us 
here,"  said  Charley. 

'  'Yes,  but  let's  go  and  sit  down  over  there  by  that 
door  first;  we  wiU  have  to  go  out  there.  But  I  want  to 
ask  you  a  few  questions  first." 

"Well,  I  am  in  for  it  now,  so  fire  away." 

"Do  you  drink?" 

"No." 

"Don't  play  cards  or  gamble?" 

"No." 

"Are  you  a  detective?" 

He  hesitated. 

"I  am  only  a  girl.     Are  you  afraid  to  answer  me?" 

"No,  not  afraid!" 

"Are  you  a  detective?"  she  asked,  and  her  wide,  blue 
eyes  looked  up  into  his  with  such  a  pleading  look  that 
he  could  not  refuse. 

"Yes,"  he  answered,  "but  I  am  not  in  the  service 
now — I  am  off  on  a  summer's  vacation.  But  why  do 
you  ask?" 

"My  brother  keeps  this  house;  my  father  owned  that 
house  that  was  burned  down  at  Miles  City,  and  it  was 
my  brother  that  you  were  after  there.  You  have  fol- 


THE    PROMISE.  41 

lowed  us  here  to  capture  my  father  and  two  brothers, 
and  take  them  off  to  prison.  No  doubt,  you  think  they 
are  bad  people;  they  never  injured  you — they  did,  what 
they  did,  to  defend  themselves;  they  are  compelled  to 
defend  themselves  again  and  against  you.  I  have  led 
you  here  at  their  command;  my  father  wrote  that  note 
and  commanded  me  to  do  what  I  have  done.  Your 
friend,  the  detective,  was  trapped  the  same  way,  and  he 
is  back  in  the  still-room,  now,  a  prisoner.  My  father 
and  two  brothers  are  in  the  saloon  there  and  saw  me 
when  I  brought  you  here.  You  could  not  get  away  from 
here,  if  you  were  to  try." 

''Now,  I  will  tell  you  why  I  asked  you  these  questions 
— I  did  it,  to  see,  if  I  could  trust  you." 

"But  how  can  you  tell  by  that?"  asked  Charley. 

"I  wouldn't  trust  a  man  that  drinks  or  gambles,"  she 
replied  warmly. 

"Well?"  said  Charley  inquiringly. 

"To  use  a  gambler's  phrase,  I  am  playing  a  desperate 
game;  but  I  hold  the  trumps — I  want  you  to  promise 
me  that  you  will  let  my  people  alone.  If  you  will  do 
this,  I  will  get  you  out  of  here;  if  you  refuse,  then 
you  are  a  doomed  man!" 

"But  the  detective,  I  can't  leave  him  here  alone?" 

"He  can  escape  the  same  way;  we  will  take  him  with 
us."— 

"But  you  may  not  be  able  to  do  this,  my  little  friend," 
said  Charley. 

"I  may  not  be  able  to  save  you!  But  here  comes  the 
dancers — you  will  have  to  decide  quick." 

"I'll  promise." 


42  I    AM    TRAPPED. 

"All  right.      Do  you  dance." 

"No,"  replied  Charley. 

"Well,  you  can  try  anyhow.  Let's  go  around  a  time, 
then  we  will  go." 

And  they  joined  the  merry  throng  of  dancers  and 
went  whirling  around  the  room.  As  they  came  to  the 
door,  his  companion  said,  nervously: 

"Here,  come  quick!" 

And  stepping  through  the  door,  they  found  them 
selves  in  a  dark  passage,  through  which  they  groped 
their  way  back  into  a  large  store-room.  The  door  and 
windows  were  barred,  so  that  escape  would  be  impos 
sible. 

At  a  glance  he  saw  how  completely  he  had  been 
trapped,  for  that  was  a  part  of  the  game.  She  was  to 
lead  him  there  with  the  hope  of  escape. 

"By  ginger,"  cried  Charley,  I  am  trapped." 

"No,  no,"  said  the  girl,  "trust  to  me,  I  will  save  you 
yet.  I  had  to  bring  you  here,  this  is  a  part  of  the 
game;  but  you  shall  see  that  I  am  an  honest  girl." 

Already,  back  in  the  dark  passage,  through  which 
they  came,  the  heavy  footsteps  of  men  were  heard 
approaching. 

"Here,  quick,"  said  the  girl,  "get  under  this  empty 
hogshead;  they  won't  find  us  here,  I  have  hid  here 
before!" 

Hardly  had  they  concealed  themselves,  when  two 
men  entered  the  room  in  search  of  them. 

"I  don't  believe  that  they  came  here,"  said  one  of 
them. 

"But  I  saw  them  in  the  hall  and  I  know,  that  they 
didn't  go  back  into  the  saloon,"  replied  the  other. 


A    CLOS6    SEARCH.  43 

"One  of  them,  leaning  against  the  hogshead,  under 
which  the  fugitives  were  concealed,  said: 

'Til  tell  you  what  it  is,  Dick,  I  don't  believe  that  that 
girl  can  be  trusted — she's  too  much  like  mother  used 
to  be." 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  the  other,  "she  trapped  the 
old  man  all  right." 

"Yes.  that  was  all  right,  but  she's  a  little  struck  on 
that  young  fellow.  Deuced  fine-looking  fellow  he  is  too, 
I  don't  know  as  I  blame  the  girl  much,  after  all.  We 
had  no  business  to  force  this  upon  her." 

'  'Don't  fool  yourself,  we  couldn't  manage  him  any 
other  way.  Perhaps  she  couldn't  get  him  to  come 
here," 

Just  then  two  more  men  entered. 

"Its  my  father,  two  brothers,  and  uncle  Dick," 
whispered  the  girl.  "Oh,  if  they  should  find  us!" 

"He  has  escaped,"  said  the  man  that  was  leaning 
against  their  hiding  place. 

"Impossible!"  cried  one,  he  couldn't  get  out  of  this 
house." 

"Where's  Kitty?"  demanded  another,  evidently  her 
father. 

"Two  of  you  go  on  into  the  still-room,  and  we 
will  go  back  and  see  if  any  one  has  seen  them,"  said 
some  one. 

"Good!"  whispered  the  girl  with  a  sigh  of  relief. 

Presently  the  two  men  returned  from  the  still-room, 
and  a  moment  later,  Charley  and  his  companion  heard 
the  door  of  the  store-room  close  behind  them. 

"Come  now,"  said  the  girl,     "we    have    no    time    to 


44  HIDING   FOR    LIFE. 

lose."     And  crawling   from   their   hiding    place,    they 
stood  ki  the  dim  light  of  the  store-room. 

No  avenue  of  escape  could  be  seen;  nothing  but  solid 
walls,  barred  doors  and  windows.  But  the  girl  was 
equal  to  the  occasion;  for,  going  up  to  one  side  of  the 
room,  to  what  appeared  to  be  an  old  mantlepiece,  she 
pressed  upon  a  hidden  spring — the  mantle  swung  open, 
and  she  motioned  Charley  to  enter  and,  quickly  follow 
ing,  she  closed  the  mantle  behind  her. 

"Come,"  she  said,  "give  me  your  hand." 

"Yes,  and  my  heart  too,  little  girl,  if  you  want  it," 
said  Charley. 

"You  had  better  save  it,  you  may  need  it  yourself,' 
she  replied,  as  she  led  him  through  a  passage,  dark  as 
Egypt.  "Be  careful  now."  And  down  a  flight  of  stairs 
they  went. 

The  way  was  long  and  steep  and  so  narrow,  that 
Charley's  broad  shoulders  were  continually  rubbing  against 
the  walls  upon  either  side . 

Down,  down,  groping  their  way  in  the  darkness,  far 
below  the  level  of  the  ground  where,  at  last,  they  stopped 
before  a  door — the  door  to  the  still-room. 

Slipping  back  the  heavy  bolts  which  fastened  the 
door,  they  entered  the  room.  All  was  still  as  the  tomb, 
and  the  darkness  was  so  intense  that  they  could  almost 
feel  it. 

"I  wonder  what  this  means?"  murmured  the  girl.  "It 
must  be  that  they  have  taken  him  away." 

"Perhaps  not,"  said  Charley,  "he  may  be  asleep." 

"Have  you  got  a  match?"  she  asked. 

"Yes,  I  always  carry  matches,"  answered  Charley. 
And  producing  one,  he  lit  it. 


A    POSSIBLE    MURDER.  45 

"There  is  a  lamp  here — ah,  here  it  is,"  said  the  girl; 
and  she  lit  it . 

By  the  dim,  flickering  light,  Charley  saw  that  he  was 
in  a  small  room,  surrounded  by  barrels  and  kegs.  In 
one  corner  was  an  arch  and  still,  but  there  was  no  one 
in  the  room. 

Looking  into  the  pale  face  of  his  little  companion, 
Charley  saw  that  she  was  troubled  and  frightened. 

"Kitty — "  it  was  the  first  time  he  had  taken  the 
liberty  of  addressing  her  thus — "what  do  you  think?" 

"I  don't  know,  I  am  afraid  that  we  are  trapped,"  she 
answered. 

"But  what  did  you  bring  me  here  for?"  asked  Charley 
rather  reproachfully. 

"To  get  your  friend.  I  thought  that  we  would  find 
him  here;  he  was  here,  not  more  than  two  hours  ago," 
answered  the  girl,  tearfully. 

"Are  you  sure  of  that?" 

"Yes,  he  ought  to  be  here  now." 

"Could  he  escape?" 

"No;  they  have  taken  him  away." 

"Where  would  they  take  him?" 

"Oh,  I  don't  know,"  said  the  girl  with  a  shudder. 

"If  they  have  murdered  him,  they  shall  suffer  for  it!" 
exclaimed  Charley,  angrily. 

"You  may  suffer  the  same  fate.  You  couldn't  escape 
from  this  room,  if  you  were  to  try." 

He  saw  at  a  glance  that  her  words  were  only  too  true. 
He  would  have  to  go  back  the  way  they  came  and  dis 
covery  would  inevitably  follow  the  attempt. 

"There's  but  one  hope  now — I  must  hide  you  here  and 
wait  for  an  opportunty  to  get  you  away.  But  you  have 


46  "KILL   ME   FIRST,    CHARLEY." 

got  to  make  me  a  promise  first.  You  must  promise 
me  that  you  will  leave  this  place  alone  and  not  trouble 
us  any  more." 

"But  my  friend,   Kitty,  what  about  him?" 

"I  don't  know.  I  can  answer  nothing  of  him.  If 
they  have  put  him  out  of  the  way,  they  did  it  to  protect 
themselves — you  would  do  the  same  thing." 

"But  I  will  avenge  his  death — I  will  punish  his 
murderers!" 

"You  will  have  to  escape  first." 

"No,  you  are  in  my  power — I  can  begin  here.  I  am 
armed,  I  can  wait  till  they  come  here  and  then  I  can 
shoot  two  or  three  of  them,  at  least. " 

"That  would  do  you  no  good.  There  are  twenty 
men  here — you  can't  kill  them  all.  But,  if  you  want  to 
try  it,  kill  me  first,  Charley . " 

"Kill  you!  my  dear,  little  girl!  do  you  think  I  would 
harm  you?"  he  asked;  and  he  looked  down  into  her 
beautiful,  wondering  eyes  with  such  a  reproachful 
look. 

"But  you  think  that  I  have  deceived  you!  Oh!  Char 
ley!  I  am  honest  in  this — I  have  done  the  best  I 
could — " 

"Hark!  did  you  hear  that?"  asked  Charley. 

"No,  I  didn't  hear  anything,"  she  said,  cowering  close 
to  his  side,  trembling  with  fear. 

"There  it  is  again!" 

"They  are  coming — quick,  follow  me!"  And  blowing 
out  the  light,  she  grasped  his  hand  and  led  him  to  the 
still  and  whispered — 

"Crawl  in  there." 


ALMOST    DISCOVERED.  47 

It  was  rather  a  disagreeable  place,  but  they  thought 
nothing  of  that;  so  into  the  arch  they  crawled,  where 
they  waited  in  breatless  silence. 

Presently  the  heavy  door  opened,  and  the  men  entered 
the  room. 

"They  are  here — they  must  be,"  said  one.  "I  left 
the  door  bolted;  none  else  has  been  here!" 

'  'They  are  not  here  now — they  must  have  gone  back, ' 
said  another. 

"That's  impossible,"  said  a  third,  "you  must  be  mis 
taken  about  bolting  the  door.  The  girl  knows  nothing 
about  the  secret  passage  that  leads  up  the  chimney." 

Charley  felt  the  little  form  at  his  side  quiver  with 
excitement,  as  the  man  mentioned  the  secret  passage. 

Every  corner  of  the  room  was  searched;  every  box  and 
barrel  was  looked  into  in  the  hope  of  finding  the  fugi 
tives.  Once,  one  of  the  men  came  and  peered  into  the 
arch .  Down  upon  his  knees,  his  head  thrust  half  way 
through  the  doorway,  he  peered  long  and  steadily,  and, 
it  seemed  to  the  fugitives,  directly  at  them.  The  little 
form  at  Charley's  side  shrunk  and  quivered  with  despair. 
No  pen  could  portray  the  agony  of  feeling  at  the  thought 
that  they  were  discovered.  The  least  sign  upon  the 
part  of  the  man,  showing  that  he  had  discovered  them, 
would  have  sealed  his  doom . 

, 'Well,  they  are  not  here,  that's  certain,"  said  the 
man,  drawing  his  head  from  the  arch  and  rising  to  his 
feet. 

"There's  a  traitor  in  camp!"  exclaimed  another. 
"Someone  has  told  him  of  the  plot,  and  he  has  made  his 
escape  and  kidnapped  the  girl  too." 


48  A    FRIGHTENED    COUPLE. 

"Well,  let's  go  back  and  report." 

And  in  a  moment  more  they  had  left  the  room,  taking 
the  lamp  with  them  and  bolting  the  door  on  the 
outside . 

Crawling  from  their  hiding  place,  they  went  to  the 
door  and  listened,  till  they  were  satisfied  that  the  men 
were  gone.  Then  lighting  a  match,  they  searched  for 
the  lamp,  but,  to  their  dismay,  found,  that  the  men  had 
taken  it  with  them . 

Trying  the  door,  they  found,  that  it  was  bolted  fast — 
no  hope  of  escape  there . 

Next,  the  secret  passage  in  the  chimney,  but  it  was 
utterly  impossible  to  find  it . 

Discouraged  and  hopeless,  they  sat  down  together  in 
the  darkness.  Despair  had  driven  the  last  ray  of  hope 
from  the  girl's  heart .  Weary  and  discouraged  they  sat 
in  gloomy  silence .  A  slight  noise  fell  upon  their  ears. 
With  bated  breath  they  listened  . 

A  door  in  one  side  of  the  room  creaked  upon  its 
hinges  and  a  heavy  footstep  sounded  upon  the  floor. 
Then  a  silence,  deep  as  death,  pervaded  the  room. 
The  seconds  seemed  to  drag  themselves  into  hours; 
still  no  sound.  Could  it  have  been  the  imagination 
of  a  fevered  brain? 

No — again  came  the  sound  of  that  step,  cautiously 
and  stealthily,  approached  them. 

Nearer  and  nearer  it  came. 

Trembling  with  terror,  the  poor  girl  crouched  close 
to  hei  companion's  side.  In  the  awful,  silent  dark 
ness,  the  slow,  cautious  approach  of  that  unseen 
visitor  was  enough  to  strike  terror  to  a  stronger  heart 
than  hers. 


SAFE    UNDER   THE    STARS.  49 

On  it  came,  till  now,  it  stood  by  Charley's  side; 
then,  for  an  instand,  it  paused.  So  close  was  it,  that 
its  garments  touched  those  of  the  crouching  fugitives. 
Then,  silent  as  before,  it  moved  to  the  other  side  of  the 
room. 

''Come,"  whispered  Charley,  grasping  his  companion's 
arm.  And,  as  silent  as  the  unseen  figure,  they  glided 
quickly  across  the  room  to  the  open  door,  through  which 
the  stranger  had  entered;  they  stepped  within,  closed 
the  door  and  bolted  it  fast . 

Looking  up,  they  could  see  the  twinkling  stars  above 
them;  and  they  knew,  from  what  they  had  heard,  that 
they  were  in  the  chimney.  Pins  upon  one  side  of  the 
chimney,  served  as  a  ladder,  and  they  were  not  slow  to 
take  the  hint. 

Availing  themselves  of  this  avenue  of  escape,  they 
soon  had  the  pleasure  and  gratification  of  finding  them 
selves  in  the  open  air,  standing  upon  the  flat  roof  of  the 
building. 

A  fire  escape  led  from  this  to  a  lower  roof  and  then  to 
the  ground. 

Not  till  they  had  reached  the  ground  did  they  feel 
safe. 

"Well,"  said  Charley,  "we  are  safe  now;  now  then, 
the  next  question  is,  what  will  you  do?  I  can't  leave  you 
unprotected — you  have  been  faithful  to  me,  Kitty,  and 
I  will  stand  by  you. " 

"I  have  done  this  for  my  father,"  she  said,  "remem 
ber  your  promise." 

"But  you,  Kitty?" 

"Never  mind  me,  Charley,  I  can  take  care  of  myself," 
she  answered. 


50  FIDELITY   TO    FRIENDS. 

"But  I  can't  leave  you  here." 

"It  wouldn't  be  safe  for  you  to  be  seen  here  with  me, 
so  leave  me.  I  have  nothing  to  fear — I  will  tell  father 
all  about  it;  he  will  take  care  of  me." 

"But  the  old  man — what  of  him?"  asked  Charley. 

"I  know  nothing  about  him,  Charley." 

"I  must  find  him — I  can't  leave  a  friend  that  way. 
If  they  have  murdered  him,  they  shall  suffer  for  it." 

"You  owe  your  life  to  me,  Charley;  just  a  word  from 
me  would  have  sealed  your  doom." 

"Dou  you  want  me,  Kitty?" 

"I  don't  feel  like  joking,  Charley,"  she  replied, 
reproachfully. 

"But  I  am  in  earnest,  Kitty — it's  all  I  have  to  give." 

"Will  you  give  me  what  I  ask?" 

"Yes,  what  is  it?" 

"That  you  will  promise  to  let  us  alone." 

"Do  you  want  me  to  go  away?" 

"O  no,  I  didn't  say  that,"  she  answered  quickly. 

"But  my  friend,  Kitty,  I  can't  leave  him.  I  will  never 
leave  a  friend  to  save  myself,  never!" 

"Neither  will  I!"  said  Kitty  petulantly.  My  father  is 
my  friend,  and  I  will  fight  for  him — " 

"He  isn't  as  good  a  friend  to  you  as  he  ought  to  be — " 

"Stop!"  cried  Kitty,  "I  wont  hear  it!" 

"Shake  hands,  Kitty,  and  make  up — let's  be  friends 
in  spite  of  all.  You  help  me  and  I  will  help  you!" 

"O  Charley,  I  thank  you,  indeed  I  do!  I  will  go  and 
try  what  I  can  do  for  your  friend.  Meet  me  here  to 
morrow  night,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  I  can  do  for  him." 

"'Nough  said,  Kitty,  I'll  do  it."     And  so  they  parted. 


"You  HAVE  DECEIVED  ME,  CHARLEY." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

KITTY   WINS. 

The  next  morning  Charley  set  out  to  keep  his  appoint 
ment  with  his  little  friend,  and  arriving  at  the  appointed 
place,  found  her  already  there  and  waiting. 

''Well,"  said  Charley,  "you  have  kept  your  promise, 
I  see." 

"Yes,"  she  answered,   "didn't  you  expect  it?" 

"O  yes,  of  course  I  did." 

"Well,  come  with  me,  I  want  to  talk  with  you,  and  I 
would  rather  find  a  more  comfortable  place  than  this." 

"Where  shall  we  go?"  asked  Charley. 

"Oh,  let's  walk  down  by  the  brook — we  can  talk  as 
we  go." 

"Have  you  learned  anything  of  my  friend?" 

"Yes,  but  you  will  have  to  let  me  tell  my  story  in  my 
own  way — I  always  have  my  own  way." 

4  'Well,  you  can't  always  have  your  own  way — but  go 
ahead  and  tell  your  story." 

"My  brother  is  innocent — " 

"Innocent!  interrupted  Charley,  "innocent  of  what?" 

"Of  the  crime  that  he's  accused  of — the  crime  that 
you  are  hunting  him  for!" 

"Well?"  said  Charley  interrogatively. 

"My  brother  was  a  cashier  in  a  bank;  he  had  an 
enemy — a  rival — some  love  affair,  of  course.  This  rival 
was  a  clerk  in  the  same  bank,  writh  my  brother.  The 
bank  was  robbed  and  this  fellow  was  killed.  Suspicion 

(SO 


52  KITTY'S  EXPLANATION 

pointed  to  my  brother  as  the  murderer;  his  friends 
turned  against  him;  discouraged  and  disheartened,  he 
fled;  but  he  was  innocent  of  the  crime.  My  father  was 
a  merchant  in  Cincinnati;  but  through  the  treachery  of 
supposed  friends  he  was  led  into  a  transaction  that 
ruined  him.  He  and  I  went  to  Miles  City,  where  he 
engaged  to  a  company  as  an  engraver.  You  broke  up 
the  business  there,  and  we  came  here  where  my  oldest 
brother  has  been  in  business  for  nearly  five  years." 

'  'A  queer  kind  of  business  for  an  honest  man  to  fol 
low,"  ventured  Charley. 

"My  brother  is  an  engraver  and  he's  working  for  a 
company — the  same  company  that  my  father  was  work 
ing  for — he  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  business  of  that 
house,"  she  said 

"He's  guilty  just  the  same!"  declared  Charley. 

"I  don't  believe  it!"  cried  the  girl. 

"Besides  he  has  attempted  my  life — perhaps  has, 
already,  taken  the  life  of  my  friend." 

"They  did  it  in  self-defence!" 

"That  don't  lessen  the  crime." 

"But  your  friend  is  not  dead!" 

"So  much  the  better  for  your  people  —  where  is  he?" 

"He's  here." 

"Here!  You  remember  what  I  told  you — that  I  would 
give  you  till  to-night  to  release  my  friend — " 

"You  never  told  me  any  such  thing,  nor  would  I  have 
done  it  if  you  had!  I  promised  to  meet  you  and  tell  you 
what  I  could  do." 

"Well,  tell  me  that." 

"I  have  a  proposition  to  make;    but  first,   who  is  the 


CHARLEY    IN    DOUBT.  53 

best  friend  to  you,  and  who  do  you  like  the  best,  me  or 
the  old  man?  Which  one  of  us  do  you  prefer?  Choose 
now;  you  can't  have  us  both!" 

"Kitty,  what  do  mean  by  this?  What  kind  of  a  game 
are  you  trying  to  play  on  me?"  demanded  Charley,  seiz 
ing  the  girl's  little  hands  and  looking  down  into  her 
frightened,  wondering  eyes. 

"Take  your  choice,"  she  cried  desperately;  "shall  it 
be  me  or  him?" 

"I  don't  understand  just  what  you  mean,  Kitty.  Tell 
me  just  what  you  want,  Kitty.  " 

"I  want  you  to  let  my  father  and  brothers  alone — 
that's  all  I  ask. " 

"I  will  never  do  that!"  cried  he,  "I  wil]  raid  the  place 
this  very  night!" 

"Then  you  don't  want  me  for  a  friend — you  have 
deceived  me,  Charley." 

"I  didn't  say  that,  nor  I  didn't  mean  it!  We  will 
always  be  friends,  Kitty — we  can't  be  otherwise.  But 
the  old  man  must  be  given  up — they  must  release  him." 

"That  they  will  never  do.  But  if  you  will  see  my 
father,  you  can  save— 

"Kitty,  this  is  a  scheme  to  trap  me!  you  are  working 
under  your  father's  orders — you  are  more  dangerous  to 
me  than  all  the  rest  together!  I  will  give  them  just  two 
hours  to  release  my  friend  !" 

"They  will  never  do  it!" 

"Then  down  they  go!" 

"You  sign  your  friend's  death  warrant!" 

"And  they  sign  theirs." 

"No  sir,  we  can  make   our   escape — we   have   other 


54  A   WILLING    PRISONER. 

places  to  go  to;  I  can  give  the  warning  and  before  you 
can  raise  a  force,  we  will  away!" 

"But  I  won't  let  you  do  it — I  will  keep  you  with  me!" 

"You  can't  do  it!" 

"Can't!  Pooh,  little  girl!  I  can  take  you  under  my 
arm  and  carry  you  home  with  me." 

"Will  you  do  it?" 

"Of  course  I  will." 

"Take  me  then!"  And  she  raised  her  tearful  eyes  to 
his.  "Take  me,  Charley,  I  am  your  prisoner." 

"I  will  tell  you,  Kitty,  what  I'll  do — you  go  back  and 
tell  your  people  to  release  the  detective  on  his  and  their 
own  terms.  I  will  accept  them.  The  responsibility 
will  rest  with  them." 

"All  right,  I  will  do  it!" 

"I  shall  expect  him  by  morning." 

"You  will  wait  till  then?" 

"Yes,  but  no  longer." 

"Probably  we  will  never  meet  again,  so  good-bye, 
Charley. " 

"No,  I  won't  say  good-bye,  Kitty,  we  won't  part  like 
this — " 

"It's  your  own  choice,  Charley,  you  choose  between 
us — " 

"Kitty,  you  shall  not  drive  me  away  so — we  will  be 
friends!" 

"You  can't  be  a  friend  to  a  counterfeiter's  daughter — 
you  have  chosen — " 

"I  tell  you  I  have  done  no  such  a  thing,  but  if  you 
want  to  force  this  on  me — if  you  don't  want  my  friend 
ship,  all  right;  but  don't  lay  it  to  me." 


THE  DETECTIVE  RELEASED.  55 

"I  made  you  a  fair  offer, — you  chose  him — " 

"I  never  did  it — I  won't  do  it — I'll  take  it  back!"  cried 
Charley.  "I  would  rather  have  you  than  a  dozen  old 
men!" 

"Then  you  trust  this  to  me.  I  will  promise  you  that 
your  friend  shall  go  free  if  he  will  leave  the  country." 

"I  have  no  doubt  but  what  he  will  be  only  too  glad 
to  do  that." 

"Will  you  let  me  go  home  now,  Charley?  It's  getting 
late  and  father  will  think  that  you  have  carried  me  off. " 

"Yes,  you  may  go,  but  remember,  Kitty,  we  are  to  be 
the  very  best  of  friends — we  will  meet  again. " 

"I  hope  so — good-bye." 

At  daylight  the  next  morning  the  old  man  was 
released  and  a  few  hours  later  started  for  Cincinuati, 
leaving  Charley  to  pursue  his  course  alone. 

During  the  day,  Charley  met  Kitty  and  told  her  of  his 
plan — how  he  proposed  to  spend  his  "Summer's  Vaca 
tion." 

"I  will  meet  you  again,  Kitty,  so  good-bye  for  a 
while." 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  DEVIL'S  CANON. 

The  next  day  Charley  met  an  old  man — an  old  Cali 
fornia  miner  and  prospecter — who  was  just  ready  for  a 
prospecting  trip  into  the  mountains.  And  after  a  little 
talk  it  was  arranged  that  Charley  should  accompany  him. 

This  change  in  Charley's  plan  was  owing  to  the  stories 
told  of  a  wonderful  and  mysterious  place  called  "The 
Devil's  Canon."  Such  wild  and  almost  incredible 
stories  were  told  of  that,  had  it  not  been  that  the  old 
man  had  been  there  and  seen  it,  Charley  would  h?.ve 
discredited  the  whole  thing  as  a  myth.  But  as  it  was, 
though  he  had  no  faith  in  it,  he  determined  to  go;  and 
less  than  two  hours  afterwards,  was  on  the  road. 

The  journey  up  the  river  was  pleasant.  Beautiful 
scenery,  varied  by  hill  and  plain,  back  of  which  towered 
the  now  snow  capped  mountains  and  dark  evergreen 
forests,  lent  a  charm  to  the  scene  that  would  tax  the 
imagination  of  a  poet  to  portray. 

Ten  days  after  leaving  Bozeman,  they  reached  their 
destination. 

The  place  selected  for  their  camp  was  in  a  deep, 
sheltered  canon,  surrounded  by  dense  forests  and  rugged 
mountains,  high  and  steep. 

"I  was  here  last  fall,"  said  the  old  man,  "and  this  is 
the  place  I  selected  for  my  campin'  place. 

"And  this  is  the  'Devil's  Canon  then,  is  it?"  asked 
Charley,  a  little  disappointed. 

"No,"  replied  the  old  man,"  ther  'Devil's  Canon'  is 
jest  over  yon  range  ov  mount'ns." 

(56) 


THE  DEVIL'S  CANON. 


A   STRANGE    PLACE.  57 

"But  I  thought  that  we  were  to  camp  there,"  said 
Charley. 

"Not  hardly!   I  wouldn't  care  to  camp  thar." 

"Why?" 

"Well,"  replied  the  old  man,  you'll  find  out  soon 
enough." 

"I  am  not  superstitious." 

"That's  all  right!  but  I  want  to  1/ell  ye,  I've  tramped 
these  mountains  nigh  on  to  forty  year,  an'  them  that 
know  old  Jack,  don't  call  him  a  coward." 

"Well,  if  it's  such  a  mysterious  and  unearthly  place, 
with  goblins  and  phantoms,  we  would  be  in  no  danger 
of  interferance  from  any  one  else,"  suggested  Charley. 

"Thar's  jest  whar  you'r  off,"  replied  old  Jack.  "If 
we  could  have  it  all  to  ourselves,  we  could  make  our 
fortunes  shortly. 

"But  who  will  interfere?" 

"I  can't  tell  that,"  replied  Jack. 

"You  imagine  somebody  would?" 

"I  know  it." 

"But  you  don't  know  whether  it  be  man,  beast  or 
devil." 

"Nary  one." 

Not  being  able  to  find  out  anything,  Charley  con 
cluded  to  investigate  the  matter  for  himself. 

The  first  few  days  were  devoted  to  preparing  a  com 
fortable  camp,  as  they  intended  to  stay  for  several 
weeks. 

This  done  they  set  about  prospecting  the  surrounding 
country.  As  the  old  man  showed  no  disposition  to  go  to 
the  "Devil's  Canon",  Charley  concluded  to  pay  it  a  visit 
by  himself. 


58  JACK'S  STORY. 

"It's  my  opin'  you'll  not  tarry  thar  long,"  said  Jack. 
"Thar's  strange  goin's  on  do  happen  thar  sometimes." 

"You  have  been  there,  then,  have  you?"  asked 
Charley. 

"Yes,  once." 

"Won't  you  go  again?" 

"Not  while  I  know  1113  self,"  he  replied. 

"Jack,"  said  Charley,  "you  are  too  old  to  be  duped 
by  any  such  nonsense  It's  nothing  but  an  Indian  tradi 
tion  that  gave  the  place  its  name.  There's  nothing  un 
natural,  unearthly  nor  devilish  about  it.  Fancy  has 
peopled  it  with  demons,  goblins  and  the  ghosts  of  sup 
posed  victims — 

"Look  a  here,  Charley,  I'll  tell  you  a  story  about  that 
place  if  you  want  to  hear  it." 

"That's  just  what  I  want." 

"In  forty-nine,  me  an'  my  pard,  we  went  into  the 
mines  in  California.  But,  like  most  all,  we  wasn't  suc 
cessful,  so  we  went  to  prospectin'.  For  weeks  and 
months  we  tramped  about  without  seein'  a  single  soul. 
We  wandered  over  into  this  part  of  the  country,  some 
where  here-abouts.  One  day,  while  out  huntin',  we  got 
after  a  bar.  I  got  a  shot  at  him  and  crippled  him;  we 
trailed  him  through  the  woods  for  aconsiderabl  distance, 
when  he  went  down  into  one  of  the  worst  canons  I  ever 
r.:en.  Thar's  something  unearthly  about  that  place,  but 
what  it  was,  I  couldn't  tell.  Finally  the  bar  went  into 
a  cave — 

"'Jack!'"  said  my  pard,  "'is  there  anything  the 
matter  with  me?' " 

"I  looked  at  him;  he  was  pale  as  death  an'  trembling, 
an'  great  drops  of  perspiration  out  on  his  face.  Jus-t 


THE    NUGGET    OF    GOLD.  59 

then  a  low  moaning  sound  fell  upon  my  ears  an'  a  feel 
ing  as  if  something,  some  unearthly  thing  was  reaching 
out  behind  me  an'  a  trying  to  take  a  hold  of  me,  came 
over  me." 

"  'What  is  it — what's  the  matter?'"  said  my  pard. 

'-It's  the  bar  a-groaning,"  I  said;  but  I  didn't  believe 
it.  Come  on,  I  said,  "let's  go  in  an'  drag  him  out. 

"We  entered  the  cave  by  creeping  through  a  long, 
narrow  passage.  It  was  as  light  in  there  as  day,  but 
where  the  light  came  from  I  could  never  tell.  O  what 
a  sight  met  our  eyes!  As  far  as  we  could  see,  gleaming 
pillars  of  quartz  and  glittering  stalactites  dazzled  our 
eyes.  Peal  upon  peal  of  thunder  rolled  up  from  away 
down  below.  Then  moanin',  sighin',  and  finally  break 
ing  out  into  the  most  unearthly  shriek  I  ever  heard. 

"Everywhere  we  could  see  the  glitter  of  gold.  We 
thought  no  more  of  fhe  bear;  but  recovering  from  our 
surprise  a  little,  we  began  to  look  about  us.  Right  at 
my  feet  I  saw  the  largest  nugget  of  gold  I  ever  saw — I 
stooped  to  pick  it  up.  At  the  same  time  my  pard  step 
ped  forward;  and  again  the  cave  was  rilled  with  that 
awful  shriek;  bewildered  and  terror-stricken,  I  dropped 
the  nugget  and  raised  up — I  was  alone;  and  from  that 
day  to  this,  I  never  saw  nor  heard  of  my  pard . " 

"And  do  you  think  that  that  cave  is  in  'Devil's  Canon?' 
asked  Charley. 

"I  left  that  place  an'  went  back  to  California,  but  the 
memory  of  that  awful  place  and  the  mysterious  disap 
pearance  of  my  pard  haunted  me  day  and  night,  till  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  go  back. 

"For  years  I  have  tramped  these  mountains,  but  not 
till  last  fall  could  I  find  a  trace  of  the  place;  or  any  place 


6O  SOME   QUEER   THINGS. 

that  appeared  to  answer  the  description  of  it. " 

"And  you  think  that  this  is  the  place,  do  you?"  asked 
Charley. 

"Yes,  I  found  our  old  camp." 

"What  do  you  suppose  became  of  your  friend?" 

"I  don't  know." 

"What  do  you  think  causes  the  mystery  of  that 
place?" 

"I  don't  know;  but  since  I  came  here  I  have  seen 
some  queer  things. — I  was  standing,  one  day,  beside  a 
hole  in  the  ground  that  looked  like  a  large  well,  when, 
all  of  a  sudden,  up,  out  of  that  hole,  went  a  column  of 
boilin'  hot  water  and  mud  for  a  hundred  feet  or  more, 
then  fell  back  with  an  awful  roar. " 

"Do  you  attribute  the  sounds  in  the  cave  to  the  same 
cause?" 

"It  may  be;  but  where  did  my  pard  go  to?  and  what 
caused  that  awful,  queer  feelin'  to  come  over  me  and 
take  my  strength  away?" 

'  'There's  some  mystery,  perhaps  some  electrical  phen 
omena  connected  with  the  place." 

"Would  that  have  such  an  effect?" 

"Yes." 

"The  Indians  say  that  no  man  can  go  there  and 
return  again.  Prisoner  and  criminals,  that  are  con 
demned  to  die,  are  sent  there  and  never  return. " 

"But  how  about  you?  you  say  that  you  have  been 
there." 

"Well,  in  my  case  it  don't  fit;  but  in  my  pards,  it 
does." 

"I  am  a-going  to  see  that  place  before  I  leave  here  — 
will  you  show  me  the  way?"  asked  Charley. 


CHARLEY    INVESTIGATES.  6 1 

"I  will  show  you  the  place,  but  I  won't  go  in." 

Early  the  next  morning  Charley  was  calculating  to  go, 
but,  before  starting,  three  men  came  into  camp,  so  he 
postponed  going. 

That  evening  they  were  speaking  of  the  place,  when 
all  three  of  the  men  declared  their  intention  of  visiting 
it  the  next  day,  if  old  Jack  would  show  them  the  way. 

"All  right,   boys,"  said  old  Jack. 

Bright  and  early  the  next  morning  they  started . 

About  three  miles  from  camp,  they  found  the  trail 
that  led  to  the  canon.  It  was  the  only  place  that  one 
could  enter  '-that  land  from  whence  no  traveler  returns." 

"You  can't  miss  the  way,"  said  old  Jack,  "keep  right 
ahead  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  an'  you'll  come  out 
into  the  canon.  In  the  middle  of  the  place  is  a  round 
lake,  an'  a  little  to  the  right  is  the  cave." 

"All  right,  boys,"  said  one  as  they  disappeared. 

"Come  on,  pilgrim,"  said  Jack,  "I  want  to  show  you 
something. " 

Turning  to  the  left  they  walked  rapidly,  climbing  up 
the  steep  sides  of  the  mountains,  till  they  came  out  on 
the  verge  of  a  high  precipice,  overlooking  what  appeared 
to  be  a  large,  round  hole  in  the  earth.  It  was  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  across  each  way,  with  perpendicular 
walls  fully  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  depth,  and  unbroken, 
except  for  one  place.  That  was  the  dark,  narrow  defile 
which  they  had  just  left. 

It  was  a  grand  and  awful  sight.  Not  a  living  thing 
could  be  found  within  the  pale  of  those  circular  walls; 
not  a  tree,  not  even  a  little  shrub. 

In  the  center  was  a  circular  basin  of  water,  or  rather 
of  mud. 


62  THE    ROAD    TO    DEATH. 

"That  lake  is,  so  the  Indians  say,  a  lake  of  fire  where 
the  spirits  of  the  victims  of  this  death  hole  dwell,"  said 
old  Jack.  "Hark!"  he  whispered,  "did  you  hear  that?" 

"I  heard  the  wind,"  said  Charley. 

"Wind!"  said  Jack  contemptuously.  "The  wind 
don't  make  no  such  noise  as  that!" 

"It's  thunder." 

"Thunder  don't  come  from  the  ground,  does  it?" 

"Look!"  said  Charley,   "there  are  the  men,  now." 

"They  are  afraid  to  go;  I  can  tell  by  their  actions!" 
exclaimed  Jack. 

"But  they  are  going.  Ah,  they  have  reached  the 
cave  and  are  entering." 

"If  they  enter,  then  we  will  never  see  them  again," 
said  Jack  with  a  shudder.  And  he  turned  away,  mut 
tering:  '  'Gone — gone. " 

The  minutes  lapsed  into  hours,  still  they  did  not  re 
turn.  The  sun  sunk  behind  the  western  hills  and  dark 
ness  closed  down  around  them,  still  they  watched  and 
waited  for  the  strangers,  but  they  never  returned. 

But  now  that  darkness  had  come,  a  new  phenomena 
was  revealed.  Pale  lights  and  tongues  of  flame  shot  up 
from  the  lake  and  flitted  about  over  its  surface,  assuming 
all  imaginable  forms.  No  wonder  the  Indians  and 
superstitious  hunters  looked  upon  it  with  a  feeling  of 
dread.  All  manner  of  sounds  came  floating  up  to  them, 
and,  a  very  easy  matter  indeed  would  it  be  for  the  ears 
of  the  superstitious  to  hear  the  groans  and  cries  of  lost 
spirits  mingling  with  the  hellish  laughter  of  devils  and 
demons. 

"Jack,    this    abode    of  devils  is  nothing  more  nor  less 


A    GEYSER.  63 

than  a  giant  geyser,"  said  Charley.  "You  have  seen 
the  same  things  in  the  National  Park.  That  lake  of 
fire  is  a  boiling  caldron  of  mud  and  water,  and  those 
lights  and  flames  and  imaginary  forms  are  nothing  but 
gas  escaping,  and  that  too  is  causing  the  noise  we  hear." 

"That  may  be,  and  I  believe  it  is;  but  what  is  the 
cause  of  the  death  of  men  and  animals  that  go  there?" 
asked  Jack. 

"I  don't  know,"  answered  Charley,  "but  I  would  like 
to  investigate  it  and  see." 

"Well,  let's  go  home,"  said  Jack. 

And  with  a  feeling  of  relief  he  led  the  way  back  to 
camp. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    CRAZY   HERMIT. 

Two  days  after  the  disappearance  of  the  three  men, 
who  had  entered  the  cave,  a  large  band  of  Indians 
camped  a  little  below  our  friends;  so  they  deemed  it 
prudent  to  move.  They  went  around  to  the  other  side 
of  the  canon  and  went  into  camp  there. 

One  day,  shortly  after  this,  as  Charley  was  going 
along  a  little  stream,  he  discovered  the  bare-foot  tracks 
of  a  man  in  the  sand;  calling  Jack's  attention  to  it,  he 
answered: 

'  'There's  a  story  told  of  an  old  man  that  lives  some 
where  in  these  mountains  and,  as  the  story  goes,  he 
found  a  great  nugget  of  gold — the  largest  that  was  ever 
found  in  California.  It  was  stolen  from  him,  but  he 
trailed  the  thieves  for  days  and  weeks,  and  finally  came 
upon  them  in  their  camp.  Pretending  to  be  lost,  he 
begged  them  to  let  him  stay  over  night  with  them.  In 
the  night,  when  they  were  asleep,  he  arose,  and  put 
poison  in  the  coffee  pot  and  then  lay  down  and  waited . 
In  the  morning,  not  wishing  to  intrude  too  much  upon 
their  hospitality,  he  departed  before  breakfast.  When 
he  thought  that  all  would  be  over,  he  went  back,  and 
found  the  three  men  helpless,  but  not  dead.  He  went 
and  got  the  nugget,  then  going  up  to  one  of  them,  he 
beat  him  with  the  precious  stone  till  he  was  dead;  and 
so  he  served  the  other  two. 

1  'The  awful  crime  he  had  committed  haunted  him  till 
he  lost  his  reason  and  wandered  away  to  these 
mountains,  where  he  has  hid  himself  and  his  nugget 
ever  since." 


PURSUED  BY  INDIANS. 


LOOKING  UP  THE  HERMIT.  65 

'•Do  you  think  that  this  may  be  his  track?"  asked 
Charley. 

"More  likely  to  be  his  than  any  one  else's.  I  have 
seen  this  same  track  many  times  before,  but  I  never 
could  get  to  see  him." 

"Do  you  suppose  that  he  still  keeps  the  nugget?" 

"Yes." 

"If  he  is  here,  we  can  find  him." 

"I  don't  know,  he  has  been  hunted  year  after  year, 
but  has  never  been  found  yet?" 

"How  many  years  has  he  been  here?"  asked  Charley. 

"About  twenty." 

"Do  you  know,  or  did  you  ever  hear  of  any  one  else 
that  is  living  anywhere  in  these  mountains?" 

"Yes.  There's  an  old  man  living  in  the  mountains 
somewhere  to  the  west  of  here. " 

"Do  you  know  where  he  came  from?" 

"No." 

"Well,  we  will  try  and  find  this  fellow  that  made 
these  tracks. 

The  next  day  they  began  prospecting  and  for  two  days 
nothing  was  seen  of  the  "Old  Man  of  the  Mountains", 
as  he  was  called . 

On  the  third  day  Charley  was  out  hunting,  and  as  he 
was  going  along  a  deep,  narrow  ravine,  he  found  the 
bare-foot  tracks  again.  He  knew  by  the  looks  of  them 
that  the  person  had  just  passed  along  and  could  not  be 
more  than  a  hundred  yards  away.  Following  for  some 
fifty  yards,  he  came  to  a  dense  thicket.  Behind  it  a 
perpendicular  wall  rose  to  several  hundred  feet  in 
heighth. 


66  ON  THE  HERMIT'S  TRACK. 

This  cliff  extended  around  in  such  a  manner  that  he 
knew,  the  man  who  had  made  the  tracks,  must  be  in  the 
thicket,  for  he  could  not  possibly  escape  without  scaling 
the  cliff — a  thing  that  no  one  could  do. 

Following  the  tracks  a  little  farther  along  the  edge  of 
the  ticket,  he  came  to  a  little  brook  that  led  out  from 
the  thicket.  The  tracks  entered  the  stream  and  were 
lost.  But  he  must  have  gone  up  the  stream,  for,  if  he 
had  gone  the  other  way,  he  would  have  met  Charley 
as  he  went  up;  so  Charley  followed  the  stream 
by  wading  till  he  came  to  the  cliff.  The  water  had 
gradually  grown  deeper  and  deeper,  till  it,  at  last,  had 
reached  his  chin. 

"Well."  he  mused,  "he  couldn't  have  come  this  way; 
he  couldn't  get  out  on  either  side,  he  couldn't  climb  the 
cliff,  and  he  could —  Ah,  I  don't  know  about  that 
either!  The  stream  comes  right  out  from  under  the  wall, 
perhaps  he  could  go  in  there.  This  may  be  the  entrance 
to  a  cave.  But  I  don't  believe  I  will  try  it  alone.  No, 
I'll  go  back  and  get  Jack,  and  then  we  will  explore  this 
place." 

The  next  day  he  started  out  in  company  with  Jack; 
but  he  found  to  his  surprise;,  that  he  could  not  locate 
the  place,  nor  could  he  find  a  trace  of  it. 

"It's  too  bad,"  said  Jack,  "that  you  didn't  mark 
your  trail  so  you  could  return;  for,  I  believe  that 
that's  where  he  lives.  If  we  could  find  him,  we  would 
make  our  fortunes." 

Three  days  after  this,  while  prospecting  in  a  rocky 
gorge,  Charley  chanced  to  look  down  the  gorge  and 
there,  not  a  hundred  yards  off,  he  saw  a  score  ormonS 


PURSUED    BY    INDIANS.  6/ 

of  Indians,  coming  directly  toward  him. 

4 'By  ginger,"  he  muttered,    "what  will  I  do  now?" 

But  Charley  was  never  long  at  a  loss  what  to  do. 
The  Indians  had  not  yet  seen  him;  and  dodging  quickly 
out  of  sight,  he  ran  up  the  gorge.  But  he  had  not 
gone  far,  when  he  was  discovered. 

Dashing  on  up  the  gorge,  hotly  pursued  by  the  In 
dians,  he  soon  came  to  what,  to  all  appearances,  was 
the  end  of  the  gorge.  Perpendicular  walls  rose  for  hun 
dreds  of  feet  upon  either  side  and  in  front. 

Already  the  voices  of  his  pursuers  were  heard,  fast 
approaching  from  behind. 

Running  along  the  foot  of  the  cliff,  he  soon  came 
to  a  dense  thicket,  in  which  he  concealed  himself.  In 
a  moment  more  the  Indians  had  reached  and  sur 
rounded  the  thicket.  Behind  him  rose  the  cliff  wall, 
upon  either  hand,  creeping  closer  and  closer,  came  the 
eagle-eyed  savages  At  his  feet  rushed  the  little  stream 
from  its  unknown  source . 

To  tell  the  thoughts  which  crowded  through  his  mind 
would  be  impossible.  Stories  of  captivity,  of  torture 
and  perhaps  death,  loomed  up  before  him. 

"By  thunder,"  he  mused,  "there's  but  one  thing  for 
me  to  do,  and  that  is  to  fight!  Hang  me  for  a  fool,  now, 
if  I  don't  make  them  pay  for  all  the  fun  they  get  out 
of  me!" 

Closer  and  closer  came  the  narrowing  circle  of  savages. 
The  shadows  of  evening  were  fast  closing  around  them, 
and  all  was  as  still  as  death . 

Nearer  and  nearer — now  a  slight  rustling  sound 
sounded  ominously  near. 


68  THE  HERMIT'S  WILD  SHRIEKS. 

Waiting  and  watching,  as  a  cat  watching  for  its 
prey,  he  waited,  rifle  in  hand.  A  slight  movement  of 
the  bushes,  a  dark,  shadowy  form,  and  he  knew  that 
the  critical  moment  had  arrived. 

Raisiug  his  rifle  slowly,  carefully,  he  glanced  along 
its  deadly  length,  his  finger  touched  the  trigger,  and — 

Just  at  that  momeut  a  pale,  lurid  light  illuminated 
the  gorge,  followed  by  the  most  unearthly  shriek  that 
mortal  ears  ever  heard.  Shriek  after  shriek  echoed 
aud  re-echoed  among  the  hills,  till  it  seemed  a  thousand 
demons  had  joined  in  the  hellish  chorus. 

Upon  the  opposite  wall  shadowy  figures  flitted  about 
or  engaged  in  endless  combat,  accompanied  all  the 
while  by  that  awful  shriek  and  demonical  laughter. 

Above  the  din,  loud  and  clear,  rang  out  the  horrified 
cries  of  the  savages,  as  they  rushed  pell-mell  down  the 
gorge. 

As  they  fled,  the  figure  of  a  man,  or  demon,  rushed 
by  the  bewildered  fugitive  and  disappeared  in  full  pur 
suit  of  the  terror-stricken  savages,  uttering  all  the  while 
that  awful  cry. 

Springing  to  his  feet,  Charley  followed  after  him. 
On  gaining  the  other  side  of  the  gorge,  he  stopped  upon 
the  bank  of  a  little  stream — the  same  one  he  had  found 
and  entered  a  few  days  before,  while  following  the  bare 
foot  tracks.  On  looking  up  to  the  opposite  wall,  he 
discovered  the  source  of  the  pale  light  that  lit  up  the 
scene. 

It  came  from  an  opening  some  half-way  up  in  the 
wall;  but  what  caused  it,  he  could  not  tell;  nor  what 
caused  the  shadowy  figures  on  the  opposite  wall,  though 


THE   MANIAC'S  FRIGHT.  69 

he    could    see    that  they  were  reflected  from  within  the 
cave. 

He  was  wondering  at  the  strange  phenomena,  when 
a  heavy  step  sounded  behind  him.  On  turning,  he  be 
held  a  sight  that,  though  he  might  live  a  hundred  years, 
he  will  never  forget.  A  man,  fully  seven  feet  in  heighth. 
broad-shouldered  and  heavy,  a  veritable  giant,  muscular 
and  active,  with  hair  and  beard  reaching  to  his  middle, 
and  with  that  wild,  unnatural  look,  seen  only  in  the 
most  dangerous  maniacs.  He  was  armed  with  a  huge, 
knotted  club,  that  would  have  taxed  the  strength  of  a 
common  man  to  carry;  which  he  twisted  about  his  head 
as  if  it  were  but  a  feather. 

Advancing  step  by  step,  beating  his  broad  chest  with 
his  huge  fist,  as  does  the  gorilla,  all  the  while,  uttering 
that  demon  shriek  and  hellish  laughter,  which  had  made 
him  such  an  object  of  terror  to  those  who  had  seen  him. 

Nearer  and  nearer  he  came.  For  a  few  moments, 
Charley  stood,  fascinated  by  the  wild,  strange  creature, 
demon  or  devil,  as  he  might  be.  But  it  was  for  a 
moment  only.  Seeing  and  realizing  his  danger,  he  gazed 
fearlessly  into  the  gleaming  eyes  of  the  monster,  and  with 
a  contemptuous  smile,  without  a  word,  raised  his  deadly 
rifle,  and  brought  it  on  a  level  with  the  broad  chest  of 
his  adversary. 

Crazy,  as  he  was,  the  maniac  had  sense  enough  to 
know  what  his  danger  was;  and  seeing  no  trace  of  fear 
in  the  flashing  eye  that  glanced  along  that  rifle  barrel, 
nor  tremor  in  the  hand  that  held  it,  he  changed  his  mind, 
and,  instead  of  attacking  the  bold  hunter,  he  stood  for  a 
moment  in  silence,  and  then  turned  and  bounded  away 


7O  CAMPING   ALONE. 

so  quickly,  that  Charley  could  hardly  tell  which  way  he 
went. 

With  a  feeling  of  relief,  Charley  turned  and  walked 
rapidly  down  the  gorge;  but  it  was  so  late  and  getting 
so  dark,  that  he  concluded  that  he  could  not  reach  camp 
that  night,  so  he  hunted  up  as  comfortable  a  place  as 
possible  and  camped  down  for  the  night. 

Fortunate  indeed  was  it  for  him  that  he  did  so. 


DEATH  OF  JACK. 


CHAPTER  XL 

DEATH    OF   JACK. 

Early  the  next  morning  Charley  returned  to  camp. 
And,  oh,  what  a  sight  did  he  behold!  Lying  upon  the 
ground,  in  front  of  the  little  cabin,  was  poor,  old 
Jack.  A  half  dozen  Indian  arrows  were  sticking  in 
his  broad  chest,  while  his  body  was  horribly  mutil 
ated. 

''Great  God!"  cried  Charley,  standing  over  the  dead 
body,  "I  would  like  to  avenge  this  deed.  Oh,  you 
blood-thirsty  devils!  Ah,  I  believe  that  it  was  the 
same  outfit  that  was  after  me." 

Examining  the  premises,  Charley  found,  that  the 
Indians  had  taken  or  destroyed  everything.  Not  a 
thing  was  left.  Blankets,  bedding,  cooking  utensils, 
provisions  and  horses — all,  all  gone. 

An  indescribable  feeling  of  loneliness  came  over  him; 
and  seating  himself  upon  a  seat  before  the  cabin  door, 
he  buried  his  face  in  his  hands  and  for  a  few  minutes 
was  lost  in  thought. 

"Yes,  yes,"  he  murmured,  "I  will  do  it!"  And  going 
to  his  dead  companion  he  dragged  him  within  the  cabin; 
closing  the  door,  he  set  fire  to  it  and  retired  for  a  little 
distance  where  he  stood  leaning  upon  his  gun,  and 
watched  the  funeral  pyre. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  little  cabin  with  its  lone  occupant 
were  reduced  to  ashes.  Then,  sadly  and  with  a  heavy 
heart,  Charley  turned  and  hastened  away,  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  nearest  settlement,  some  thirty  miles  away. 

(70 


72  AN  EXCITING    RACE. 

Hastening  along  through  the  dense  forests  and  moun 
tains  as  rapidly  as  possible,  he  came  out,  along  toward 
evening,  upon  a  high  ridge,  overlooking  a  broad,  level 
valley  half  mile  away,  where  he  sat  down  to  rest. 

A  beautiful  panorama  was  spread  before  him,  the 
little  park  or  valley,  surrounded  upon  all  sides  by  high, 
snow-capped  mountains  and  dark,  dreary  forests,  pre 
sented  the  appearance,  almost,  of  a  garden  in  the 
wilderness — an  oasis  in  the  desert. 

Beautiful  and  peaceful  was  the  scene,  yet,  so  soon  to 
become  the  areua  in  which  a  bloody  tragedy  was  to  be 
enacted. 

Sitting  thus,  thinking  of  the  sad  fate  of  poor,  old  Jack 
and  the  strange  creature,  whom  he  had  met,  when,  from 
afar  down  the  valley,  a  chorus  of  wild  yells  attracted  his 
attention.  Presently  a  horseman  came  into  view,  closely 
followed  by  a  half  dozen  Indians. 

It  was  an  exciting  race;  hard  pressed,  though  the  white 
man  was,  he  held  his  own,  until  he  had  reached  a  point 
directly  opposite  of  the  lone  spectator.  The  fugitive's 
horse  was  about  winded;  he  could  not  hold  out  much 
longer,  and  Charley  knew  that  he  was  about  to  witness 
a  bloody  and  exciting  tragedy.  How  would  it  end?  One 
man  against  six — a  one-sided  combat,  indeed.  But, 
with  all  the  odds  against  him,  the  man  was  as  cool  and 
unconcerned  as  if  engaged  in  some  peaceful  and  amusing 
sport. 

He  had  turned  his  flagging  horse  directly  toward  the 
place  where  Charley  stood,  but  it  was  evident  that  he 
could  not  reach  the  shelter  of  the  wood. 

Now,  with  a  wild  yell  of  triumph,  the  savages  clashed 


A    BRAVE    MAN'S   FIGHT.  73 

forward,  discharging  a  volley  of  bullets  and  arrows. 
Rider  and  horse  went  down  in  a  heap.  Again  and  again 
rang  out  that  wild  war-whoop,  as  the  triumphant  savages 
rushed  upon  their  fallen  victim. 

But  the  tragedy  was  just  to  begin;  for,  as  the  un 
suspecting  savages  rushed  upon  him  to  scalp  him,  totally 
unprepared  for  such  a  reception,  the  fallen  man  sprang 
to  his  feet,  a  revolver  in  either  hand,  and,  before  the 
Indians  had  time  to  recover  from  their  surprise,  four 
shots  rang  out,  and  four  savages  fell  from  their  horses. 
The  other  two  turned  and,  putting  spurs  to  their  horses, 
endeavored  to  escape;  but  it  was  too  late,  for,  picking 
up  his  Winchester,  he  dropped  them  both  before  they 
could  get  out  of  reach. 

One  of  the  horses,  freed  from  its  rider,  had  fled  away 
toward  the  timber  below,  and,  thinking  perhaps,  that  he 
might  capture  him,  Charley  followed  after,  and  soon 
came  upon  him. 

"By  Jinks,"  exclaimed  Charley,  as  he  came  up  to  the 
horse,  "it's  my  own  Fanny!"  And  calling  him  by  name, 
the  horse  allowed  himself  to  be  caught. 

Fortunate,  indeed,  was  this  for  Charley,  as  we  shall 
presently  see. 

"Ah,"  said  Charley,  patting  his  horse  upon  the  neck, 
"fortunate  for  me  that  I  found  you,  old  fellow!  I've 
nearly  worn  my  legs  off  to-day.  By  jingoes  though,"  he 
exclaimed,  "but  that  was  a  cute  trick  that  fellow  played! 
Zounds,  but  didn't  he  lay  'em  out  cool!" 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A    RACE    FOR     LIFE. 

As  Charley  was  riding  down  the  valley,  and  some  ten 
miles  from  the  settlement,  he  heard  the  clatter  of  horses 
hoofs  sounding  out  behind  him.  Presently  some  fifteen 
or  twenty  Indians  came  in  sight.  They  were  on  his 
trail  and,  of  course,  saw  him  as  soon  as  he  did  them. 

Then  commenced  another  race,  a  race  more  exciting 
to  Charley,  at  least,  than  the  first  one  had  been. 

On,  on  they  flew,  pursued  and  pursuers,  down  the 
valley.  Now  dashing  headlong  through  the  open,  then 
darting  among  the  trees,  leaping  fallen  trees  and  stones, 
then  leaping  some  water-worn  gulley,  but  still  pressing 
on  in  that  mad  race  for  life. 

Thundering  down  the  valley,  not  two  hundred  yards 
apart,  horses  and  riders  flaked  with  foam,  they  dashed. 
The  sun  had  already  gone  down  behind  the  western  hills 
and  darkness  fast  closing  around  them,  would  but  make 
the  route  more  difficult  and  dangerous. 

Wearily  and  with  fast  increasing  weakness  the  noble 
horse  struggled  on.  One  satisfaction  though  he  had,  if 
his  own  horse  was  failing,  so  were  those  of  his  pursuers 
as  well.  It  was  but  a  question  of  endurance,  though  it 
seemed  almost  decided  against  him,  for  his  pursuers  were 
gaining  now. 

"By  gum,"  he  muttered,  "if  my  horse  should  stumble 
and  fall." 

And  a  shudder  passed  over  him  as  he  saw,  in  his 
imagination,  the  triumphant  savages  rush  upon  him. 

(74) 


A  RACE  FOR  LIFE. 


STANDING    AT    BAY.  75 

But  a  far  more  pleasing  sight,  just  then,  was  revealed; 
for,  on  turning  a  bend  in  his  course,  he  beheld  the  lights 
of  the  settlement  scarcely  a  half  mile  away. 

With  a  shout  of  joy,  he  raised  in  his  saddle  and  looked 
back  at  his  pursuers.  One  by  one  they  had  dropped  out 
of  the  race,  till  but  a  half  dozen  of  them  remained. 

Quick  as  thought  Charley  sprang  from  the  saddle  and 
discharged  his  Winchester  at  the  formost.  In  the  dark 
ness,  his  aim  was  uncertain,  but  his  object  was  under 
stood,  for  hardly  had  the  report  broken  the  stillness, 
when  the  Indians  dismounted  and  began  a  fusilade  upon 
him.  Charley  kept  up  his  firing,  more  to  signal  help 
than  in  the  hope  of  hitting  any  of  his  foes. 

But  soon  all  trace  of  them  was  lost,  for  they  did  not 
care,  even  iu  the  darkness,  to  make  target  of  themselves 
for  him  to  practice  upon.  But  Charley  understood  well 
enough  that  they  would  not  yet  give  up  the  hope  of 
killing  him. 

Maddened  by  the  death  of  their  comrades,  and  piqued 
at  not  being  able  to  capture  him,  the  savages  threw 
themselves  in  the  tall  grass  and  began  crawling  toward 
him. 

Charley  saw  their  game,  and  to  avoid  them,  began 
crawling  away  toward  a  stream  a  few  yards  distant. 
Here,  sheltered  by  the  trees  and  darkness,  he  waited  and 
watched. 

Presently,  from  down  the  valley  toward  the  settlement, 
the  unmistakable  sound  cf  horses'  hoofs  upon  the  hard 
ground  was  heard.  Had  they  heard  his  signal?  Then  a 
new  thought  struck  him. 

"By  thunder  now,"  he  said,  "if  I  can  drown  the  sound 


76  A    SHREWD   GAME    FOILED. 

of  those  fellows  till  they  get  most  here,  we'll  get  some  of 
these  red  devils  yet!" 

And  in  order  to  accomplish  his  object,  he  began  firing, 
changing  his  position  each  time. 

But  the  wily  savages  had  either  heard  the  approach 
ing  horsemen,  or  understood  the  ruse,  for  a  few  minutes 
later,  when  some  ten  or  a  dozen  horsemen  came  dash 
ing  up,  no  trace  of  the  Indians  could  be  found. 

Returning  in  a  short  time  from  the  search,  they  all 
returned  to  the  settlement. 


THE  MURDERER  HUNG. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    HAUNTED    CABIN. 

Not  long  after  reaching  the  settlement,  Charley  heard 
the  story  of  a  foul  and  cowardly  murder  that  had  been 
committed  some  eight  months  before.  All  efforts  to 
discover  the  murderer,  had  failed  to  bring  to  light  even 
a  small  clew  as  to  who  the  murderer  was.  Nor,  even, 
conld  the  body  be  found. 

"How  do  you  know  he  was  murdered  then?"  asked 
Charley. 

"Well,  stranger,"  said  a  miner,  "thar  be  things  that 
one  knows  an'  yet  can't  tell  jest  how  he  knows  it.  But 
I'll  tell  ye  the  story  an'  then  ye  can  jedge  fer  yourself. 

"Old  Dad  Payne  an'  his  girl  an'  boy  came  here  last 
spring  and  began  work  in  ther  mines.  There  was  a 
young  feller  came  with  them,  an'  he  went  to  prospecting 
up  in  the  gulch,  some  ten  miles  above  here,  whar  he 
lived  mostly  alone.  This  feller  was  in  love  with  old 
Dad's  gal  an'  they  war  gon'  to  marry  in  the  fall.  All  to 
onct  this  here  feller  disappeared  an'  thet's  the  last  of 
him — no,  not  the  last,  fer  his  ghost  still  stays  in  the 
little  cabin  whar  he  lived." 

"The  cabin  is  haunted  then,  is  it?"  asked  Charley 
skeptically. 

"Thet's  what  yer  call  it." 

1  'Where  is  this  Dad  Payne  and  his  girl  now?"  queried 
Charley. 

"They  live  out  yonder."  And  he  pointed  out  the 
cabin.  "He'll  tell  yer  all  yer  want  ter  know." 

Calling  upon  Dad  Payne,  Charley  mentioned  the  sub 
ject  and  said — 

(77) 


78  A   MUTUAL   DISLIKE. 

1  'Are  you  anxious  to  discover  the  murderer?" 

"Yes,"  replied  the  old  man  quickly. 

"Do  you  suspect  any  one  here?" 

"No,"  he  replied. 

"What  could  have  been  the  motive  for  taking  his 
life?" 

"I  know  of  none  at  all." 

"Nor  suspect  anything?" 

"Nothing  at  all." 

"Well,  said  Charley,  ready  to  go,  "I  shall  look  into 
the  case  a  little,  and,  if  I  can  make  anything  out  of 
it,  I  will  let  you  know  as  soon  as  possible." 

"Thank  you,"  said  the  old  man.  "You  are  welcome 
here  at  any  time — call  as  often  as  you  like . " 

"I  shall  be  sure  to  avail  myself  of  the  privilege,"  re 
plied  Charley,  and  left. 

In  less  than  two  days,  Charley  learned  that  a  young 
man  of  the  town  was  very  much  interested  in  the  Payne 
family.  He  was  a  respectable  young  fellow,  so  every 
body  said,  of  moderate  means  and,  it  appeared,  was  well 
thought  of  by  the  Payne's. 

Immediately  a  dislike  sprang  up  between  the  two,  just 
why,  perhaps  neither  could  tell.  They  met  often  at  the 
Paynes',  and  not  long  after,  a  slight  suspicion  was 
aroused  in  the  young  detective's  mind,  that,  perhaps, 
this  young  fellow  might  know  something  about  the 
murder. 

"Why  is  it,"  thought  Charley,  "that  the  fellow  takes 
such  a  dislike  to  me?  I  never  gave  him  the  slightest 
cause.  It's  not  jealousy,  for  I  don't  meddle  with  the 
girl.  No,  by  thunder,  it's  something  else — there's  some 
thing  back  of  all  this!" 


VISITING    THE    HAUNTED    CABIN.  79 

Charley  soon  found  out  that  he  was  hindered  in  every 
way  conceivable  by  this  fellow;  and  it  angered  and  all 
the  more  determined  him  to  solve  the  mystery. 

One  warm,  pleasant  morning,  about  a  week  after  his 
arrival  at  the  settlement,  he  saddled  his  horse  and,  with 
out  letting  any  one  know  of  his  going,  went  up  to  the 
canon,  where  the  haunted  cabin  of  the  murdered  man 
was  situated. 

As  he  entered  the  deep,  gloomy  canon,  a  feeling  of 
gloom  and  uneasiness  stole  over  him.  Try  as  he  would 
to  banish  the  thought  of  ghosts  from  his  mind,  they 
would  come  in  spite  of  him. 

Deeper  and  darker  grew  the  canon,  till,  at  last,  he 
stood  before  the  little  cabin. 

Dismounting,  he  entered  the  cabin  and  looked  about. 
Everything  was  just  as  left  by  its  owner.  Bars,  beds, 
clothing,  camping  and  prospecting  outfit — all  undis 
turbed. 

Sitting  down  upon  a  stool  in  front  of  the  fire-place,  he 
rested  his  chin  in  his  hands  and  was  soon  lost  in  deep 
thought.  How  long  he  had  sat  thus,  he  knew  not, 
when  he  was  aroused  by  the  frightened  snorting  of  his 
horse.  Springing  to  his  feet,  he  rushed  to  the  door,  just 
in  time  to  see  his  horse  disappear  down  the  canon. 

What  had  frightened  him  was  more  than  he  could  tell, 
but  he  determined  to  wait  and  watch. 

For  hours  Charley  paced  back  and  forth,  but  as  no 
thing  appeared,  he  determined  to  follow  his  horse  back 
home.  So  trudging  down  the  canon,  he  made  his  way 
back. 

Somehow,  an  uneasy  feeling  took  possession  of  him, 
the  flight  of  his  horse  troubled  him.  He  was  not  afraid, 


8o  AN    IMPORTANT    FIND. 

fear  was  a  stranger  to  him. 

Suddenly,  as  if  rising  from  the  ground,  the  shadowy 
form  of  a  man  appeared  directly  before  him  and  scarcely 
fifty  yards  distant.  So  sudden  and  unexpected  was  his 
appearance,  that  Charley  could  not  tell,  from  what  direc 
tion  he  had  come. 

The  apparition  walked,  or  rather  it  seemed,  glided 
down  the  canon  in  the  direction  of  the  settlement. 

Some  strange,  fascinating  power  seemed  to  lure  rather 
then  impel  Charley  to  follow  after.  It  seemed  to  him 
that  he  could  not  have  done  otherwise,  had  he  tried. 

Charley  knew  that  he  was  following  the  ghost  of  the 
haunted  cabin, 

Suddenly,  as  he  came  to  a  narrow  place  in  the  canon 
and  close  under  an  overhanging  cliff,  the  man  stopped, 
threw  up  his  hands  and  fell,  but  quickly  sprang  to  his 
feet  and  dashed  away  down  into  the  bottom  of  the  deep 
canon,  among  the  dense  growth  of  bushes  which  grew 
there. 

Impelled  by  some  sirange  and  irresistible  force,  Char 
ley  sprang  forward  and  followed  the  fleeing  phantom. 

On  forcing  his  way  through  the  almost  impenetrable 
thicket,  and  as  he  was  nearly  midway,  he  caught  the 
gleam  of  some  bright  object  lying  in  the  grass,  which  a 
closer  examination  of  proved  to  be  a  knife. 

Picking  up  the  knife,  he  forced  his  way  through  and 
came  out  on  the  other  side  and  stopped  and  was  exam 
ining  the  knife,  when  he  was  again  startled  by  the 
appearance  of  a  man,  riding  up  the  canon. 

Crouching  low  behind  the  bushes,  Charley  watched. 
The  horseman  rode  to  the  very  spot  where  the  strange 


THE    MURDERER     RUN    DOWN.  8 1 

scene  had  taken  place,  and  dismounted.  Leaving  his 
horse,  he  began  to  search  as  if  trying  to  find  something. 

"I  must  find  it,"  he  said  to  himself.  "It  is  here  some 
where — it  must  be!  It's  the  only  evidence  against  me. 
Oh,  if  that  d — d  detective  should  find  it!  By  heaven," 
he  hissed,  "I  will  put  a  bullet  through  his  heart!" 

Just  then,  he  stopped  and  looked  wildly  about  him — 
he  had  discovered  Charley's  tracks,  and  as  the  awful 
thought  dawned  upon  his  troubled  mind,  that  perhaps  he 
was  already  discovered,  nearly  drove  him  frantic. 

After  satisfying  himself  that  no  one  was  near,  he  began 
to  search  again. 

Crawling  upon  his  hands  and  knees,  he  made  his  way 
through  the  thicket  and  paused  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
tree  behind  which  Charley  was  concealed. 

"By  the  eternal!"  he  muttered,  "I  will  go  home 
and  kill  that  damnable  detective  this  very  night.  He 
will  be  at — " 

"At  where?"  interrupted   Charley. 

With  a  terrible  oath  the  guilty  man  sprang  to  his  feet 
and  faced  his  hated  and  now  triumphant  enemy. 

"Curse  you!"  he  cried,  and  in  an  instant  the  two  men 
sprang  together.  But  the  murderer,  though  a  powerful 
man,  was  no  match  for  the  dauntless,  young  giant;  and 
in  less  than  a  second,  he  was  hurled  stunned  and  bleeding 
to  the  ground. 

A  few  minutes  later,  bound  hand  and  foot,  he  was  left 
alone  to  endure  the  horrors  of  his  guilty  conscience  till 
morning. 

"Yes,"  said  Charley,  as  he  turned  to  go.  "I  will 
leave  you  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  ghost  of  poor 


82  CHARLEY    PRODUCES    HIS    FIND. 

Billy  Jones.  Ah,  you  and  Billy  were  very  good  friends; 
no  doubt  he  will  pay  you  a  visit  by  and  by."  Saying 
which  Charley  walked  away  and  left  him. 

It  was  ten  o'clock  that  night,  when  Charley  reached 
the  settlement.  He  went  to  the  saloon  where  he  knew 
that  he  would  find  a  large  crowd  of  the  miners  and  town 
people  gathered,  and  entering  the  room  just  in  time  to 
hear  the  remark — 

"This  here  new-comer  what  yer  calls  Yankee  Charley, 
he  suspects  Jim  Stone  as  has  a  hand  in  the  murder  of 
Billy  Jones." 

"Where's  Yankee  Charley?"  asked  one.  "I  would 
like  to  hear  what  he's  got  to  say  about  it,  anyway." 

"Here,"  said  Charley,  stepping  forward  and  throwing 
the  knife  upon  a  billiard  table,  around  which  the  people 
were  standing.  "I  have  just  returned  from  the  haunted 
cabin  up  there  in  Dead  Man's  canon.  I  found  that  knife 
there.  See  what  you  think  of  it." 

For  a  few  minutes  not  a  word  was  spoken;  then 
Payne  picked  up  the  knife  and  read  the  name  on  the 
handle — the  name  of  Jim  Stone. 

Holding  the  knife  above  his  head,  so  that  every  one 
could  see  it,  he  cried — 

"Jim  Stone  is  the  murderer!" 

"Where's  Jim  Stone?"  cried  a  dozen  voices  in 
chorus. 

"I  will  tell  you  where  he  is,"  cried  Charley.  "Not 
three  hours  ago  I  left  him  in  Dead  Man's  canon;  just 
across  the  gulch  from  the  cliff  below  the  cabin.  He  was 
hunting  for  this  knife." 

"To  horse!"  yelled  Payne,  "and  bring  him  in." 


THE    MURDERER   HUNG.  83 

"You  will  find  him  there;  I  left  him  bound  hand  and 
foot  with  the  ghost  of  Billy  Jones  to  keep  him  company," 
said  Charley. 

"We'll  bring  him,  we'll  bring  him!"  yelled  a  dozen. 
"Don't  wait,  he  might  escape!" 

Twenty  minutes  later  a  half  dozen  men  rode  away  to 
bring  the  doomed  man,  while  others  paraded  the  streets 
and  kept  the  people  awake. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  prisoner  was  led  forth. 
No  judge  or  jury  was  needed.  There  was  no  question 
as  to  his  guilt.  And  even  before  he  was  brought  forth, 
the  rope  was  ready  for  his  neck. 

The  knife  was  shown  him  and  he  was  asked,  what  he 
had  to  say  for  himself.  He  refused  to  say  anything 
about  the  matter;  and  then  for  the  first  time  the  people 
saw  that  he  had  lost  his  reason. 

Thinking,  perhaps,  that  he  was  trying  to  play  crazy, 
in  the  hope  of  escaping  his  miserable  doom  by  such  a 
ruse,  the  rope  was  adjusted  about  his  neck,  and  again  he 
was  asked  what  he  had  to  say. 

"Ha,  ha,'  laughed  the  maniac.  "And  so  you've  come, 
have  you?"  And  again  rang  out  that  wild  laugh.  "Oh, 
curse  you,  Billy  Jones,  curse  you,  I  say!" 

"Up  with  him!"  cried  a  dozen  voices.  And  in  a 
moment  he  was  dangling  from  a  limb  of  a  tree. 

All  the  next  day  his  body  hung  upon  the  limb,  a  les 
son,  as  one  old  fellow  said,  to  evil-doers. 

"We  allers  leaves  'em  hang  fer  awhile,"  said  another, 
"as  a  sort  of  warning  to  others  of  a  like  sort." 

The  next  day  a  posse  of  men  went  to  Dead  Man's 
canon  and  found  the  grave  of  the  murdered  man  beneath 
the  tree  where  the  murderer  was  captured.  A  pile  of 


84  THE   GHOST   DISAPPEARED. 

stones  was  erected  to  mark  the  spot  and  for  a  protection 
against  the  intrusion  of  animals. 

The   phantom   was   never  seen  after  the  death  of  the 
murderer. 


THE  CAVE  OF  DEATH. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   CAVE   OF   DEATH. 

About  three  weeks  after  first  arriving  at  the  settlement, 
Charley,  believing,  from  what  he  had  seen  and  learned 
from  the  unfortunate  Jack,  while  at  Devil's  canon,  that 
there  was  gold  there  and,  ambitious  to  solve  the  mystery 
of  that  strange  place,  if  possible,  and  he  believed  it  to 
be,  for  he  was  satisfied  in  his  own  mind,  that  there  was 
nothing  unnatural  or  unfathomable  about  the  place, 
resolved  to  return  to  Devil's  canon. 

He  did  not  believe  in  ghosts,  in  spite  of  what  he  had 
seen  at  Dead  Man's  canon;  but  the  people,  who  accom 
panied  him,  did. 

"But,"  they  said,  *  'ghosts  or  no  ghost,  if  there's  gold 
there  we'll  find  it." 

They  had  heard  the  wild,  fanciful  stories  of  the  place, 
of  its  fabulous  wealth  of  gold,  and  its  strange  and  weird 
mystery;  and  when  they  learned,  that  Charley  had  been 
there,  they  were  wild  to  get  him  to  lead  them  to  the 
mysterious  land. 

Such  is  the  cupidity  of  man  that  he  will  brave  any 
danger  in  the  hope  and  effort  of  becoming  rich.  Though 
Charley  knew  that  the  danger  was  great,  he  believed 
that  all,  or  nearley  all,  danger  could  be  avoided.  The 
cause,  which  he  believed  to  be  a  natural  one,  of  that 
mysterious  influence,  which  had  lured  the  unfortun 
ate  victims  of  the  Devil't  canon  to  their  doom,  could  be 
found  and  avoided. 

Thus,  full  of  hope,  they  started  out  on  their  perilous 
expedition,  arriving  the  next  evening  at  the  old  camping 
place,  where  Charley  and  old  Jack  had  first  stopped. 

(85) 


86  SEARCHING    THE    CAVE    OF   DEATH. 

Early  the  next  morning  they  all  started  out  for  the 
strange  canon  and,  shortly  after,  they  passed  through 
the  deep,  narrow  defile  and  entered  the  land  of  death. 

"Here,"  said  Charley,  "is  the  very  spot  where  I  saw, 
for  the  last  time,  the  three  men,  whom  I  and  my  pard 
had  shown  to  their  last  resting  place." 

A  shudder  passed  over  him,  as  he  looked  around  upon 
the  scene  of  death  and  desolation.  Not  a  living  thing 
within  the  bounds  of  those  faded  walls. 

As  he  stood  there,  a  queer  feeling  came  over  him — a 
feeling  of  indifference  of  what  might  happen — a  feeling 
as  of  confusion,  which  almost  robbed  him  of  his  self- 
possession.  His  brain  was  in  a  whirl.  Visions  of  wealth 
and  happiness  lured  him  on. 

A  little  to  the  right  was  an  entrance  to  a  cavern.  It 
was  the  "Cave  of  Death",  but  to  him,  it  seemed  to  offer 
naught  but  wealth  and  happiness. 

Here,  he  realized,  was  the  danger — here  lay  the 
mystery  surrounding  this  strange  and  fatal  land.  This 
mysterious  influence,  which  had  so  nearly  overpowered 
him — which  lured  him  on — but  the  cause  he  could  not 
understand . 

Realizing  that  in  this  mysterious  influence  was  their 
great  and,  perhaps,  only  danger,  he  strove,  with  all  his 
might,  to  overcome  it  and  to  retain  his  senses.  But,  at 
times,  it  seemed  impossible  for  him  to  govern  his  own 
actions,  but  when  he  saw  that  his  companions  were 
laboring  under  the  same  influence,  he  redoubled  his 
efforts. 

Already  his  companions  began  to  move  on  toward  the 
cave,  drawn  on  by  that  almost  irresistible  and  mysterious 
power. 


DESPAIRING   WAILS.  8? 

As  they  approached  the  cave  the  sound  of  noises,  of 
laughter,  of  shrieks,  and  groans,  fell  upon  their  ears.  It 
was,  so  'tis  said  by  the  Indians,  "the  cries  and  groans  of 
the  tortured  souls,  of  its  fated  victims." 

Entering  the  cave,  they  stood  in  the  gloaming  of  that 
mysterions  light  which  illuminates  the  cave — a  light,  so 
tradition  says,  is  reflected  from  rubies  and  diamonds — a 
light,  supposed  to  possess  the  peculiar  and  fascinating 
power  to  blind  the  eyes  of  the  doomed  beholder. 

It  was  a  beautiful  sight  indeed  which  presented  itself 
to  their  view.  Huge  pillars  of  glittering  quartz  and 
glisteniug  stalactites,  reflecting  their  rainbow  tints  so 
dazzlingly  bright  and  beautiful. 

As  their  wondering  eyes  fell  upon  this  fascinating 
scene,  robbing  them  for  a  moment  of  all  thought  of 
danger,  from  afar  down  the  cavern  came  a  whistling, 
hissing  sound,  that  the  exited  imagination  of  the  men 
interpreted  according  as  their  imagination  led  them. 
One  heard  it  as  a  despairing  wail,  another  the  shrieks  of 
demons. 

The  men  were  completely  fascinated.  Such  wild  and 
uncanny  stories  had  they  heard  of  this  strange  place, 
that  they  were  prepared  to  see  and  hear  anything.  Their 
imaginations  were  worked  up  to  that  point,  that  the 
stories  which  they  had  heard,  took  on  a  form  to  suit 
each  individual  fancy — thus  no  two  saw  nor  heard  the 
same  things. 

There  was  one  thing  that  Charley  had  seen,  and  that 
was  the  careless  indifference  to  the  real  danger  before 
them,  whatever  that  danger  might  be.  Charley  had 
nearly  succumbed  to  the  same  fascinating  power,  but  he 


88  SAD    FATE    OF   A   COMPANION. 

had,  by  sheer  force  of  will,  banished  it;  and  now,  as  he 
saw  the  condition  of  his  companions,  he  realized  why  it 
was  that  many,  who  were  known  to  have  gone  there> 
never  returned.  Robbed  of  their  senses,  they  had  gone 
and  never  to  return. 

Seeing  their  danger,  Charley  determined  to  rouse  them 
to  their  senses .  To  accomplish  which  he  stepped  before 
them  and  discharged  his  gun  over  their  heads  and  cried 
out— 

1  'See  here,  boys,  this  won't  do;  there's  danger  here; 
'rouse  up  and  look  sharp,  for,  we  must  explore  this  cave 
if  we  expect  to  find  anything  here!  Be  careful  now,  and 
look  where  you  are  going!" 

Just  then  an  awful  cry,  followed  by  the  most  hideous 
and  unearthly  laughter  rang  through  the  cave. 

"Great  God!"  cried  some  one,  "what  was  that?" 

"Ha-ha-h-a"  came  back  the  demon  laugh. 

"Boys!"  said  Charley,  "I  have  heard  that  laugh  be 
fore;  it's  the  Crazy  Hermit!" 

Just  then  a  cry  from  one  of  Charley's  companions 
startled  him;  and  turning  to  see  what  was  the  matter, 
he  saw  the  unfortunate  man  just  as  he  disappeared 
through  the  broken  floor  of  the  cave.  This  revealed  the 
true  danger  of  the  cave.  It  banished  the  thought  of 
demons  and  devils  in  an  instant .  It  was  quicksand.  His 
companions  sprang  forward,  but  it  was  too  late;  for, 
poor  fellow,  he  was  gone.  The  sacrifice  of  his  life  had 
solved  the  mystery  of  that  awful  place. 

Now,  for  the  first  time,  they  realized  the  danger  that 
they  were  in.  There  was  but  a  thin  crust  of  lime  and 
sand  forming  the  floor  of  the  cave;  and  it  was  liable  to 


EFFECT   OF   POISONOUS   GAS.  89 

break  at  any  moment.  Like  a  sheet  of  thin  ice,  it 
looked  safe,  but  the  danger  was  only  too  plainly  revealed 
by  the  sad  fate  of  poor  Jones. 

Sadly  and  cautiously  they  turned  and  picked  their  way 
back  toward  the  entrance.  Their  retreat  was  followed 
by  that  same  hideous  laugh  that  they  had  heard  before. 

As  they  emerged  from  the  cave,  they  saw,  what  they 
had  not  seen  before,  the  skulls  and  bones  of  hundreds  of 
human  beings  scattered  about  upon  the  white,  glittering 
sand — the  victims  of  the  Devil's  canon — Indian  prison 
ers  and  criminals,  who  had  been  compelled  to  enter  this 
"Vale  of  Death",  condemned  to  die  by  the  strange  and 
mysterious  power  which  lurked  about  the  place. 

Again,  as  soon  as  they  emerged  from  the  cave,  that 
strong  feeling  which  had  come  over  them  when  they  first 
entered  the  canon,  came  over  them.  This  time,  nearly 
overpowering  them,  for  they  had  stopped  longer  and, 
consequently,  were  more  exposed  to  the  influence  which 
caused  it. 

This  peculiar  feeling  was  caused  by  a  poisonous  gas 
arising  from  the  ground,  a  gas  similar  to,  or  perhaps  the 
same,  as  that  found  in  some  wells  and  old  mines.  This 
was  the  mysterious  power — a  power  attributed  to  evil 
spirits  by  the  Indians  and  the  superstitious  hunters — 
that  first  dulled  the  senses,  robbing  one  of  a  sense  of  his 
danger  and  then,  by  a  sort  of  intoxicating  feeling,  led 
the  victim  to  his  doom. 

Realizing  their  danger  now,  they  started  for  the  en 
trance  of  the  canon  as  fast  as  they  could;  but  so  long 
had  they  been  exposed,  that  it  was  with  the  greatest  dif 
ficulty  that  they  could  move  at  all. 


go  NARROW   ESCAPE. 

A  cry  from  one  of  the  men  arrested  them  and,  turning 
to  see  what  was  the  matter,  they  saw  him  sink  to  the 
ground  in  a  state  of  unconsciousness.  Springing  quickly 
to  his  assistance,  the  others  dragged  him  to  the  entrance 
where  a  breath  of  fresh  air  soon  revived  them,  though 
it  was  several  hours  before  the  unconscious  man  was 
able  to  walk. 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  CRAZY  HERMIT. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A    MYSTERY. 

"Boys,"  said  Charley,  as  they  returned  to  camp,  "I 
don't  believe  there's  any  gold  nor  diamonds  in  Devil's 
canon;  nor  could  we  get  it  if  there  was.  I  didn't  see 
any  sign  of  gold  there.  But  I  will  tell  you  what  I  did 
find,  or  rather,  what  I  heard  there,  and  that  is  this — I 
heard  the  demon-laugh  of  the  "Crazy  Hermit",  or  the 
"Old  Man  of  the  Mountains",  as  he  is  called.  Now,  I 
have  seen  that  fellow,  and  I  know  where  he  lives.  It's 
over  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain.  He  lives  in  a 
cave  over  there  and  I  think,  that  that  cave  and  this  one 
here  are  connected.  I  know  that  it  was  the  Hermit 
that  uttered  that  horrible  laugh  in  the  cave — I've  heard 
it  before. 

'  'Now,  I  propose,  that  we  go  over  there  to-night.  It 
will  take  us  about  three  or  four  hours  to  make  it.  That 
will  be  just  about  the  right  time  to  see  the  ghost  dance. 
What  do  you  say?" 

"We  say,  let's  go!"  exclaimed  all.  And  in  a  few  min 
utes  they  were  making  their  way  towards  the  gorge 
where  Charley  had  witnessed  the  strange  dance  of  the 
shadowy  figures  upon  the  cliff  wall — the  place  where  the 
Crazy  Hermit  had  appeared  and  frightened  away  the 
savages. 

Reaching  the  gorge,  they  followed  the  little  brook  to 
where  it  emerged  from  the  thicket;  here  they  camped. 

"Do  you  see  that  black  hole  up  there?"  asked  Charley. 
"Well,"  he  said,  "the  Hermit  lives  there,  and  he's  got  a 

(91) 


92  THE   GHOSTLY   DANCE. 

magic  lantern  or  something  up  there  and  he  will  give  us 
a  free  show  pretty  soon,  I  think;  so  watch." 

They  had  not  long  to  wait.  It  was  about  ten  o'clock 
and  everything  was  still.  Suddenly  upon  the  opposite 
wall  appeared  those  shadowy  figures,  and,  as  if  in 
accompaniment  to  the  ghostly  dance,  that  same  hide 
ous,  demoniacal  laughter,  followed  by  and  mingled  with 
the  most  unearthly  shrieks  and  cries  that  mortal  ears 
ever  heard. 

Upon  the  opposite  wall  flitted  and  danced  those 
shadowy  figures.  But,  suddenly,  a  change  came  over 
the  scene;  a  giant  form  appeared  among  them  and,  with 
a  huge  club,  began  felling  the  shadowy  imps  to  the 
ground;  no  sooner  did  one  fall  than  another  arose  and 
entered  the  never-ceasing  combat. 

Demon's  or  devil's,  indeed,  must  have  been  the  arm 
that  wielded  that  huge  club,  for,  hour  after  hour  waged 
that  fierce  and  never-to-be-forgotten  conflict. 

At  last,  as  if  by  the  interposition  of  some  out-side 
cause,  the  fierce  conflict  ended,  and  again  all  was  dark 
ness  and  gloom. 

'  'By  ginger!"  exclaimed  Charley,  "they  gave  us  a  little 
variation  to  the  program  to-night.  I  wonder,  what  it 
means,  anyway?" 

"What  the  dickens  does  he  do  that  for,  anyway?" 
queried  one  of  the  boys.  "What's  the  meaning  of  it?" 

"And  how  does  he  do  it?"  asked  another. 

"He's  in  league  with  the  devil!"    declared  another 

"Devil  or  no  devil,"  said  Charley,  "we'll  investigate 
the  cave  in  the  morning  and  solve  the  mystery." 

And  thus  determined,  they  retired  for  the  night . 


THE  DEMON'S  STRANGE  DOOR.  93 

In  the  morning,  bright  and  early,  they  began  search 
ing  for  a  means  of  reaching  the  cave  above. 

"I'll  tell  you,  boys,  said  Charley,  "I  saw  the  Hermit 
here,  and  I  know,  that  he  has  some  way  to  reach  the 
cave.  If  he  can  get  there,  we  can,  if  we  can  only  find 
the  way.  Now,  you  can  see  that  he  always  follows  this 
little  brook  through  the  thicket  —  the  brook  comes  right 
out  from  under  the  cliff  and,  I  think,  that  it's  the  en 
trance  to  the  cave." 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the  cliff  wall,  from 
under  which  came  the  little  brook. 

"There,"  said  Charley,  pointing  to  the  place,  "is  the 
entrance  to  the  cave." 

And  taking  a  lasso  which  he  carried,  he  fastened  one 
end  of  it  around  his  waist  and  handing  the  other  to  the 
boys,  he  continued — 

"You  fellows  hold  the  rope,  and  I'll  see  what's  in 
there." 

And  taking  a  long  breath,  he  ducked  his  head  below 
the  water  and  crept  forward.  Feeling  his  way  along,  he 
soon  found,  that  he  could  raise  his  head  above  water. 

"By  jingoes!"  he  exclaimed,  as  he  raised  his  head 
above  the  water  and  looked  around.  "I  thought  so!" 
And  jerking  on  the  line  to  attract  the  attention  of  those 
outside,  he  shouted  to  them  to  come  in. 

A  few  minutes  later,  all  were  in  and  ready  to  explore 
the  cave. 

Following  a  narrow  passage  that  gradually  ascended 
to  a  higher  level,  they  soon  came  out  into  a  large 
room.  Upon  the  sandy  floor  of  this  room  the  bare 
foot  tracks  were  found.  An  opening  in  the  side  of 


94  THE   DEAD   HERMIT   AND    HIS   GOLD. 

this  room  led  out  of  the  cliff  wall  and  let  the  light  of 
day  shine  in  so  that  it  was  tolerably  well  lighted. 

,,This  must  be  the  place,"  said  Charley,  ' 'where  the 
old  Hermit  performs  his  tableaux.  But  where's  he?" 

Yes,"  said  one  of  the  men,  going  to  the  opening, 
''this  is  the  place,  I  can  see  our  camp  below." 

It  was  from  this  room  that  those  awful  cries  had 
come;  and  it  was  in  this  room,  that  that  terrible  con 
flict  was  waged.  But  where  was  the  giant  of  the  con 
test  of  the  night  before? 

An  exclamation  of  one  of  the  men  drew  the  attention 
of  all  to  another  room,  directly  opposite  the  opening  in 
the  cliff;  and,  hurrying  in,  they  found  the  dead  body  of 
the  Hermit  lying  in  the  centre  of  the  room.  By  his 
side  lay  the  huge,  knotted  club,  and  grasped  in  one  hand 
was  the  great  nugget,  for  which  he  had  commited  the 
awful  crime  that  made  him  a  maniac,  a  demon. 

Lying  there,  where  he  had  fallen  from  sheer  exhaus 
tion,  never  to  rise  again,  lay  the  Crazy  Hermit,  but 
where  were  the  strange  imps  or  whatever  it  was,  that 
had  caused  the  shadowy  figures  upon  the  cliff  wall  the 
night  before?  With  what  was  he  engaged? 

"By  thunder,  I  believe  he  was  engaged  last  night 
with  the  devil  himself,"  said  Charley.  "If  he  was  not, 
with  what  was  he  engaged?" 

"Reader,  we  leave  you  this  mystery  to  solve,  we 
could  not  do  it,"  declared  Charley. 

For  two  weeks  they  camped  there  and  explored  the 
cave  daily,  yet,  when  they  left,  they  knew  as  little  about 
the  mysterious  happenings,  as  when  they  first  came. 
One  thing  they  had  learned — there  was  no  gold  there, 


THE    RETURN.  95 

except  the  huge  nugget  they  had  found  in  the  dead 
Hermit's  hand. 

"Well,"  said  Charley,  as  they  were  ready  to  leave, 
'  'we  have  got  enough  to  pay  us  for  our  trouble  anyway, 
so  let  the  mystery  rest  for  some  one  else  to  fathom,  but 
I  doubt,  whether  it  will  ever  be  done;  for  with  the  death 
of  the  Hermit  ends  the  mission  of  those  ghostly  shadows 
which  were  reflected  by  that  pale,  weird  light  upon  the 
face  of  the  cliff. 

Thus,  after  two  weeks  fruitless  search  for  the  fabulous 
wealth  for  gold  and  diamonds,  which  were  reported  to 
exist  there,  they  gave  up  the  search  and  returned  to  the 
settlement. 

"Now  I  am  ready  for  another  trip  somewhere,"  said 
Charley.  "By  gum,  I  can't  lay  around  here  more  than 
one  day.  I  must  put  in  my  time  well,  for  there's  no 
telling  when  I  will  get  a  chance  to  take  another  sum 
mer's  vacation!  By  jinks,  though,  but  I  have  had  a  rip 
ping  time  so  far  anyhow!  Only  been  out  a  little  over 
t\vo  months  either;  Lord,  but  won't  I  have  lots  of  fun 
yet,  though!  Ka-hoop!  O  Lord!" 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

AN    UNFINISHED    LETTER. 

The  next  day,  after  returning  to  the  settlement,  Char 
ley  was  overjoyed  at  meeting  with  a  prospecting  expedi 
tion  that  was  going  into  the  mountains  away  to  the 
south-west.  It  was  in  these  mountains,  so  old  Jack  had 
told  him,  that  an  old  hermit  had  lived  for  many  years. 
The  country  was  almost  unknown  at  that  time. 

A  journey  of  five  days  brought  them  to  the  moun 
tains. 

One  day,  as  they  were  passing  along  a  small  stream, 
they  came  out  into  a  beautiful  little  park.  Surrounded 
on  all  sides,  as  it  was,  by  dense  forests,  from  whose 
dark,  somber  shades  rose  the  rugged,  snow-capped 
mountains,  and  iu  the  centre  of  which  nestled  a  beauti 
ful  little  lake,  it  did  indeed  make  a  most  pleasing  picture. 
As  they  had  reached  the  part  of  the  country  for  which 
they  set  out,  they  concluded  to  make  their  camp  there. 

As  Charley  was  no  prospector,  he  assumed  the  duty 
of  supplying  the  camp  with  wild  game. 

For  several  days  he  hunted  about  the  forests  and 
hills,  bringing  in  a  bountiful  supply  of  venison  and  bear 
meat. 

Often,  in  his  rambles  along  the  streams,  he  busied 
himself  in  prospecting  on  his  own  account,  though  he 
was  not  successful .  But  one  day,  about  a  week  after 
his  arrival  there,  he  was  walking  along  a  little  stream, 
when  he  came  upon  the  skeleton  of  a  man.  He  had  lain 
undisturbed  and  had  undoubtedly  been  murdered,  for, 
on  examining  the  remains,  Charley  found  a  knife  stick- 

(96) 


AN  UNFINISHED  LETTER. 


SAD   FATE    OF   TWELVE    MEN.  97 

ing  between  the  ribs,  directly  over  the  region  of  the 
heart. 

In  a  pocket  of  his  partially  decayed  coat,  Charley 
found  a  letter,  which  disclosed  the  secret  of  the  dis- 
apearance  of  twelve  young  men. 

The  letter  read  thus — 

—  "Twelve  days  ago  we  started  on  our  flight.  Pur 
sued  by  the  Indians,  we  fled  away  into  the  mountains 
and  forests,  not  knowing  where  we  were  agoing.  We 
had  pro — "  Here  a  part  of  the  letter  was  so  soiled  and 
discolored,  that  it  was  impossible  to  make  it  out — "an 
awful  death — a  death  so  mysterious  and  sad — .  At  ex 
actly  sunset  each  day  one  of  us  must  die.  Oh  God!  the 
horror  that  fills  my  heart  at  the  thought  of  that  awful, 
mysterious  and  fatal  power  that  has  robbed  my  eleven 
companions  of  life. 

"Oh  God!  I  feel,  even  now,  the  icy  hand  of  death 
closing  upon  my  heart;  for  the  hour  has  almost  come, 
when  I,  the  last  of  the  twelve,  must  also  die,  as  my 
companions  have  died.  Yes,  the  bright,  beautiful  sun, 
upon  which  I  can  never  look  again,  is  fast  going  down 
behind  the  western  mountains;  and  with  its  setting  must 
I  die.  Oh  God!  upon  this  the  twelfth  day,  I  alone  am 
the  victim;  for  I,  alone,  of  the  twelve  brave  boys,  am 
left. 

"But  yesterday,  there  were  two  of  us,  as  the  sun  went 
down,  we  looked  in  each  others  faces,  and  I  saw  the  un 
mistakable  sign  that  my  companion  and  not  I  would  be 
the  victim  of  that  hour.  He  asked  me  to  get  him  a  cup 
of  water,  complaining  that  he  felt  sick.  I  hurried  to  the 
brook  and  got  the  water  and  returned,  to  find,  alas! 


98  THE    LAST    TO    DIE. 

what  I  expected,  the  dead  body  of  my  companion.  He 
had  fallen  pierced  to  the  heart  by  his  own  dagger. 

"Crazed  and  horrified  by  the  awful  fate  of  my  com 
panions,  I  wandered  away  into  the  forests,  not  knowing 
nor  caring  where  I  was  going;  for  I  knew  that  my  fate 
was  inevitable — I  could  live  but  another  day.  And  now, 
as  the  sun — the  last  of  my  life — is  slowly  sinking  in  the 
west,  I  feel  the  coming  of  the  Destroyer — the  Avenger. 

"I  look  back  to  the  past — I  see  my  friends  again  at 
home,  and  I  know  that  they  will  never  solve  the  mystery 
of  my  death,  for  I,  the  last  of  the  twelve,  have  not 
witnessed  the  death  of  one.  It  always  happened  that 
they  were  stricken  down  when  no  one  was  looking.  Fate 
had  decreed  it  thus. 

"I  will  fold  this  letter  and  put  it  in  my  pocket-book, 
so,  if  chance  should  happen  to  guide  some  wandering 
eye  to  my  lonely  remains,  it  may  be  found,  and,  per 
haps,  convey  a  poor  and  very  limited  idea  of  the  suffer 
ing  and,  at  last,  the  death  of  the  last  of  the  twelve,  and 
here  will  I  await  my  doom." 

After  reading  the  letter,  Charley  placed  it  in  his 
pocket  and,  gathering  up  what  articles  there  were  that 
were  of  any  use  or  that  might  serve  as  a  clew  to  the 
identity  of  the  unfortunate  man,  he  returned  to  camp. 

That  evening,  after  supper,  as  they  were  all  sitting 
around  smoking,  he  told  of  the  adventure  of  the  day 
and  read  them  the  letter.  No  one  had  ever  heard  of 
such  a  party. 

Shortly  after  this,  as  Charley  was  out  hunting,  he 
came  upon  the  tracks  of  a  bear.  He  concluded  to  trail 
him  and,  if  possible,  to  capture  him. 


MEETING    A     STRANGER.  99 

Following  the  trail  down  a  deep  canon,  he  came  sud 
denly  upon  an  old  man,  as  he  was  sitting  upon  a  fallen 
tree.  His  head,  white  as  the  driven  snow,  was  bowed 
low  and  he  seemed  to  be  lost  in  deep  thought.  He  arose 
quickly,  as  Charley  came  up,  and  stood  leaning  on  his 
gun,  watching  his  visitor  closely. 

He  was  a  man  of  some  fifty  years.  As  Charley  came 
up,  he  said — 

"How  do  you  do,  stranger?" 

Charley  returned  the  greeting  and  said — 

"I  did  not  expect  to  meet  anyone  here." 

"Nor  I,"  replied  the  old  man;  "you  are  the  first  man 
I  have  seen  for  more  than  a  year." 

'•Rather  a  lonely  life  you  are  leading,  I  should  say," 
declared  Charley. 

"Lonely!"  exclaimed  the  old  man  in  a  sad,  mel- 
ancholly  tone.  "Yes,  I  am  lonely — all  alone  and 
doomed  to  eternal  disappointment.  "O  Gcd,"  he 
moaned  "that  I  could  but  find  a  trace  of  him;  I  could 
die  in  peace!" 

"You  seem  to  be  in  trouble,"  said  Charley.  Can't  I 
do  anything  for  you?" 

"I  don't  know,"  he  mused,  and  looked  away  over  the 
mountain  peaks,  with  a  dull,  meaningless  expression  in 
his  sad,  gray  eyes. 

"I  don't  know,"  he  reiterated,  "but  come  to  my  cabin, 
I  want  to  talk  a  little  with  you." 

And  he  led  the  way  in  silence,  till  they  reached  his 
cabin. 

"Here,"  he  said,  "is  where  I  have  lived  for  three 
years;  come  in." 


ioo  THE  STRANGER'S  SAD  STORY. 

It  was  a  neat,  comfortable  little  place.  Charley  sat 
down  upon  a  pile  of  furs,  while  the  old  man  busied  him 
self  preparing  supper. 

After  supper,  they  seated  themselves  before  the  fire, 
and  for  a  long  time  the  old  man  was  lost  in  deep  thought; 
his  head  bowed  and  gazing  intently  into  the  fire.  Fi 
nally  arousing  himself,  he  said — 

"I  believe  that  my  dream  is  coming  true.  I  dreamed 
the  other  night  that  my  mission  was  ended — that  a 
stranger  came  to  my  cabin,  bringing  to  me  the  news 
that  my  long  lost  boy's  remains  had  been  found." 

"Tell  me  the  story,"  said  Charley,  "and  perhaps  I 
can  help  you.  I  will  gladly  do  anything  that  I  can  for 
you." 

"Ten  years  ago,"  he  said,  "I  was  a  prosperous 
merchant  in  San  Francisco.  I  had  a  son,  an  only  child, 
of  twenty  years  of  age,  bright,  noble  fellow. 

Here  the  tears  coursed  down  the  old  man's  cheeks  and 
his  frame  shook  with  the  emotion  he  could  not  sup 
press. 

"He  was  ambitious,"  continued  the  old  man,  "to  do 
some  great  thing — to  accomplish  some  great  undertak 
ing.  I  knew  his  ambitious  aspirations,  and  I  knew  the 
uselessness  of  trying  to  dissuade  him — I  remembered 
when  I  was  a  boy  like  him,  the  ambitious  feelings  that 
filled  my  heart,  when  I  left  home  and  set  out  to  seek 
my  fortune  in  the  mines  of  California. 

"About  this  time  a  wild  and,  to  me,  incredible  story, 
of  a  great  diamond  that  had  been  discovered  among  a 
tribe  of  Indians,  living  in  the  eastern  part  of  Idaho, 
reached  the  city.  The  story,  as  told  by  an  old  miner, 


THE    GREAT    MEDICINErSThNlt  /'',  '<\Ql 

created    considerable    excitement.'  v"It!  w^s"  cabled  ;th£ 
'Great  Medicine-stone',    and    was   by'  the  '  Indians  *coii-: 
sidered  invaluable.      It    was    guarded  night   and  day  by 
twelve  chosen  warriors. 

"This  was  the  heighth  of  my  boy's  ambition — to  go 
there  and  possess  himself  of  that  stone.  So  he  and  his 
associates,  twelve  altogether,  started  for  the  Indian 
country. 

"For  two  months  he  kept  me  posted  about  his  journey. 
Every  few  days  I  would  receive  a  letter,  setting  forth, 
even  to  the  minutest  details,  all  the  happenings  of  his 
journey.  As  they  neared  the  land  of  the  Idahoes,  stories 
of  the  wonderful  'Medicine-stone'  convinced  them  of  its 
existence,  and  of  the  difficulty  they  would  encounter  in 
getting  it.  The  last  letter  was  written  as  they  were 
encamped  about  two  miles  from  the  Indian  village. 

"Days  and  months  passed,  still  no  tidings  came. 
His  poor  mother,  broken-hearted,  sank  day  by  day  under 
the  weight  of  that  awful  fear  which  weighed  down  her 
heart,  to  an  untimely  grave. 

"An  insatiable  desire  to  solve  the  mystery  of  my  son's 
fate  possessed  me,  and  so  I  set  out  for  the  Indian 
country.  On  arriving  at  the  Indian  village,  I  found  the 
remnants  of  a  once  powerful  and  intelligent  tribe, 
dwindled  away  almost  to  nothing. 

"From  an  old  half-breed,  with  whom  I  stopped,  I 
learned  this  story:  'Over  one  hundred  years  ago,  an  old 
medicine  man  of  the  tribe  had  seen  in  a  vision,  a  great 
diamond  lying  in  a  great  river  far  to  the  north-west.  In 
his  vision  he  was  told,  that  he  who  possessed  .this  won 
derful  stone  would  live  forever,  provided  he  always  kept 


io2?  ,^'          \/ra£?  MEDICINE  MAN'S  VISION. 

it  citidL  u'sfed  tt  Jfbr  the  gofrd  of  his  people;  but  to  others 
i'hkn"  those  "of  pure  "heart  and  unselfish  motives,  it  would 
bring  ruin  and  misfortune.  It  would  protect  him  and 
his  people  against  their  enemies,  against  disease,  and  in 
its  liquid  depths  he  could  read  the  future  destiny  of  any 
one  who  looked  upon  it.  The  old  medicine  man  had 
made  the  journey,  encountering  many  hardships  and 
dangers,  but  had,  at  last,  brought  the  stone  in  triumph 
to  his  tribe,  with  whom  it  had  remained  for  over  a  hun 
dred  years.  A  great,  many  attempts  by  their  enemies 
had  been  made  to  obtain  the  wonderful  stone.  Once  a 
powerful  tribe,  who  live  far  to  the  south,  some  three 
thousand  strong,  attacked  their  village.  But  the  Great 
Medicine-man  appeared  in  the  midst  of  the  battle,  bear 
ing  the  'Great  Medicine-stone'  aloof,  so  that  it  shot  its 
glimmering  rays  upon  the  enemy.  Instantly  the  enemy 
fell  down  and  perished.  Three  thousand  warriors 
perished  and  their  bodies  were  taken  to  a  cave  close  by, 
where  their  bones  remain  to  this  day.  This  cave  is 
called  the  'Cave  of  Bones'. 

"But  a  short  time  ago,"  said  the  half  breed,  "the  old 
medicine-man  called  the  tribe  together  and  told  them  of 
a  vision  of  coming  misfortune  which  he  had  seen.  The 
vision  was  not  clear,  yet  he  knew  that  they  would  lose 
the  'Great  Medicine-stone'.  They  were  to  come  from  a 
large  city  on  the  shore  of  the  great  water  to  the  West. 
They  would  gain  possession  of  the  'Stone'  and  then  flee 
away  to  the  mountains.  All  attempts  to  regain  the 
'Stone',  would  be  in  vain,  but  the  robbers  would  never 
return  to  their  homes;  for  the  avenging  spirit  of  the  old 
medicine-man  would  pursue  them,  and,  one  by  one, 


FINDING   THE   GRAVES.  1 03 

each  day  at  exactly  the  time  when  the  'Stone'  was  stolen, 
one  of  the  thieves  would  fall,  pierced  through  the  heart 
with  his  own  knife  and  with  his  own  hand." 

The  old  man's  voice  trembled  with  emotion  as  he 
related  the  strange  story,  and  for  some  time,  after  he 
was  done  speaking,  he  sat  in  silence,  lost  in  thought. 

"For  six  days,"  he  continued,  "the  Indians  pursued 
the  fugitives,  and  each  day  finding  the  lonely  grave  of 
one  of  them.  On  the  eleventh  day  a  great  storm 
arose  and  blotted  out  the  trail,  so  that  they  could  not 
follow  any  farther. 

"1  hired  the  half  breed  to  guide  me  to  the  graves. 
Strange  to  say  the  bodies  had  not  been  disturbed,  and  I 
easily  recognized  them  by  various  articles;  but  the  re 
mains  of  my  boy  were  not  found.  Then  commenced  the 
long  and  tedious  search.  For  two  months  I  searched  in 
every  direction,  when  I  found  another  grave.  Nearly 
two  years  passed  before  I  found  the  eighth  grave.  Two 
months  later,  I  found  the  ninth.  Two  years  more,  and 
I  found  the  tenth,  and  three  years  after,  I  found  the 
eleventh,  but  none  of  them  contained  the  remains  of  my 
son.  He  was  spared  to  the  last,  that  he  might  suffer 
the  greater  torment." 

Here  the  old  man's  voice  failed,  and,  burying  his  face 
in  his  hand,  he  burst  into  tears. 

'  'I  could  well  understand  the  awful  suffering  which 
had  racked  the  old  man's  brain  till  he  was  bereft  of  his 
reason,"  said  Charley  in  relating  the  story,  "for  he  was 
indeed  a  maniac." 

"Oh  God!"  cried  the  old  man,  "that  I  could  find  the 
remains  of  my  boy,  I  could  then  die  in  peace;  it's  my 
last  wish — my  only  prayer. " 


104  THE    DISCOVERY    AND    DEATH. 

"Old  man,"  said  Charley,  laying  his  hand  upon  the 
bowed  head,  *  -perhaps  I  can  help  you  in  this.  Read 
this  letter,"  and  Charley  handed  him  the  letter  which 
he  had  found. 

Eagerly  he  grasped  the  letter  from  Charley's  hand  and 
scanned  its  contents  closely.  Charley  could  see  that  a 
terrible  struggle  was  waging  within  him.  His  hand 
shook  and  the  hot  tears  blinded  his  eyes. 

"Oh  God,"  he  cried,  "at  last,  at  last,  my  prayer  is 
answered;  but  another  day  and  I  am  ready  to  die!" 

Charley  lay  down  upon  a  bed  in  the  corner,  aud  went 
to  sleep;  but  when  morning  came,  he  knew,  that  the 
old  man  had  not  slept.  He  sat  where  he  was  when 
Charley  left  him  the  evening  before. 

Soon  after  breakfast,  Charley  led  the  old  man  to  where 
the  remains  of  his  long  lost  son  lay.  He  recognized  the 
things  as  those  belonging  to  his  boy. 

For  several  moments  he  stood  speechless,  yet  calm, 
then  his  head  drooped  upon  his  bosom  and  he  tottered. 
Charley  sprang  forward  and  caught  him,  and  then  laid 
him  gently  down  upon  the  ground,  a  corpse. 

That  night,  while  sitting  around  the  fire,  Charley  told 
the  story  of  the  old  man  and  his  wanderings. 

The  legend  of  the  'Great  Medicine-stone'  was  known 
by  the  miners.  Their  story  of  it  was  the  same,  as  that 
told  by  the  old  man.  They  described  it  as  a  very  large 
diamond,  perfectly  transparent,  and  having  twelve  equal 
faces — as  if  cut  and  polished  in  the  most  perfect  manner. 
But  whether  cut  by  art  or  nature,  no  man  could  tell. 

"Where  can  this  great  diamond  be?"  was  asked  by 
all.  "Had  the  old  man  found  it?  Would  he  be  apt  to 


THE  DIARY'S  STORY.  105 

take  it  if  he  had,  knowing  its  history  and  the  awful  suf 
fering  it  brought  upon  those  who  possessed  it?  If  he  had 
found  it,  what  had  he  done  with  it?" 

"No,"  said  Charley,  "I  don't  believe  that  he  found  it. 
If  he  had,  he  would  have  said  something  about  it." 

They  determined  to  search  the  cabin  at  any  rate;  so 
the  next  morning  they  went  and,  after  burying  father  and 
son  in  one  grave,  went  to  the  cabin. 

When  they  came  near,  they  saw  a  column  of  smoke 
rising  from  the  valley  near  the  cabin;  and,  soon  after, 
saw  a  band  of  Indians  riding  away. 

On  reaching  the  cabin,  they  found,  that  it  had  been 
robbed  of  everything  worth  carrying  away . 

On  the  floor  was  a  diary  relating  the  details  of  the  old 
man's  long  and  tedious  search.  Upon  one  page  was  an 
account  of  his  finding  the  'Great  Medicine-stone';  and 
upon  the  last  page,  and  written  the  night  that  Charley 
had  stayed  with  him,  were  the  words — 

"Knowing  that  you  will  return  to  my  cabin,  and  de 
siring  to  pay  you  for  the  kindness  you  have  shown  me,  I 
bequeath  you  all  my  property.  Raise  the  large  stone  in 
front  of  the  fire-place,  and  there,  you  will  find  the  'Great 
Medicine-stone'  of  the  Idahoes,  also  a  few  nuggets  of 
gold  that  I  picked  up  in  my  wanderings . " 

But  other  eyes  had  read  that  page,  and  other  hands 
had  raised  that  stone,  and  borne  away  the  treasure . 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

FINDS   A    CLEW. 

With  a  feeling  of  disappointment  at  the  loss  of  fortune 
so  nearly  won,  yet  so  hopelessly  lost,  they  turned  from 
the  cabin  and  went  back  to  camp. 

Here  another  disappointment  was  in  store  for  them; 
for,  in  their  absence,  the  Indians  had  raided  their  camp, 
completely  destroying  everything  which  they  did  not 
carry  away. 

"Boys,"  said  Charley,  "we'd  better  get  out  of  here 
before  those  devils  take  it  into  their  heads  to  come  back 
again  and  take  us  in.  I've  got  all  the  prospecting  I 
want,  for  a  while  at  least,  so,  I  think,  that  I  will  look 
for  something  else." 

"What  will  you  try?"  asked  one. 

"Oh,  I  don't  know,"  replied  Charley. 

"Let's  follow  up  the  trail  of  that  diamond,"  said  an 
other. 

"Let's  go  back  to  the  settlement,"  suggested  a  third. 

So,  after  a  little  further  discussion,  it  was  decided 
best  to  return  to  the  settlement. 

The  nearest  settlement  was  some  thirty  miles  to  the 
west  of  them,  and  to  this  settlement  they  went. 

Two  days  after  reaching  the  town,  which  was  called 
'Hardscrabble',  Charley  stepped  into  a  place  called  'The 
Eldorado'.  It  was  a  dance  hall  and  gambling  den — a 
low,  disreputable  place. 

Two  long,  dreary,  monotonous  days  had  passed,  with 
out  an  event  of  any  kind  having  happened  to  cheer  up 
the  flagging  spirits  of  our  young  tourist. 

(106) 


— -ML- 


CHARLEY  AND  FRANK  SMITH. 


CHARLEY   AT   HARDSCRABBLE. 

' 'By  jinks,"  exclaimed  Charley,  "this  won't  do;  my 
summer's  vacation  must  not  be  spoiled;  something  must 
be  did  right  away!  By  gum,  if  something  don't  turn  up 
by  another  day,  I'm  off  just  a-flying. " 

Scarcely  two  hours  after  this  the  town  of  Hardscrabble 
was  thrown  into  a  state  of  feverish  excitement  by  the 
report  that  a  man — a  stranger — had  been  shot  while 
passing  along  the  street. 

Now,  if  it  had  been  a  citizen,  no  one  would  have 
taken  any  particular  notice  of  it;  for  such  incidents  are 
of  frequent  occurence.  But  when  a  stranger  falls,  and 
that,  too,  by  the  hand  of  an  unknown  assassin,  in  the 
midst  of  the  hospitable  town  of  Hardscrabble,  "thar'll 
be  suthin'  did!" 

The  one  thing  above  all  else  that  Hardscrabble  boasts 
of,  is  her  hospitality  toward  strangers.  Here  an  un 
pardonable  offence  had  been  committed  and  the  people 
were  bent  on  vengeance. 

Rough,  but  kind  hands,  raised  the  stranger  and  bore 
him  to  the  nearest  house.  It  happened  to  be  the  house 
where  Charley  was  staying,  and  he  was  one  of  the  first  to 
go  to  the  fallen  stranger's  assistance.  Here,  for  a  week, 
he  lay  first  upon  this  side  and  then  upon  that  of  that 
dark  and  mysterious  line  which  separates  this  life  from 
the  life  eternal. 

At  last  the  crisis  came.  The  attentive  watcher,  who 
had  watched  and  cared  for  him  so  tenderly,  saw  that  the 
critical  moment  had  arrived. 

Slowly  the  stranger's  e^es  opened  and,  for  a  moment, 
rested  upon  the  face  of  the  watcher;  then  turning  away 
he  murmured — 


108  "ZELL,    ZELL,    WHERE    IS    SHE?" 

"Ah,  yes,  it  was  all  a  dream!  But  oh,  what  makes  me 
feel  so  weak  and  faint?  Where  am  I?"  he  asked,  turning 
an  inquiring  look  upon  his  nurse.  "What  has  happened? 
Where  is  she?  Zell,  Zell!  Oh,  where  is  she?" 

"Hush,"  said  Charley,  kindly;  "you  are  too  weak  to 
talk  much;  you  have  been  shot,  and  you  must  keep  quiet 
for  a  lit—" 

"Oh  my  God!"  he  moaned,  "then  it  is  not  all  a  dream 
— I  have  seen  her,  I  have  seen  Zell!" 

"You  must  keep  quiet,"  cautioned  Charley;  "you 
must  not  take  on  so;  your  life  may  depend  upon  it — do 
you  understand?" 

"Yes,  yes;  but  how  long  have  I  been  here?"  he  asked 
anxiously. 

"Six  days,"  answered  Charley. 

"Six  days!  Is  it  possible  that  I  have  been  here  so 
long?" 

"It  was  just  six  days  ago  to-day  that  I  had  you  brought 
here." 

"And  have  you  been  :here  with  me  all  that  time?"  he 
asked. 

"Nearly  all  the  time." 

"Have  I  talked  much?"  he  queried  in  a  troubled,  an 
xious  tone. 

"Yes,  you  have  talked  a  good  deal." 

For  a  few  minutes  he  was  silent,  then  he  asked,  an 
xiously  — 

"Has  any  one  beside  you  heard  much  that  I  have 
said?" 

"No,"  answered  Charley,   "not,  but  a  very  little." 

A  sigh  of  relief  was  his  only  answer. 


THE  STRANGER'S  STORY.  109 

A  few  days  later,  as  Charley  came  into  his  room,  the 
invalid  asked — 

'  'Are  you  much  acquainted  with  the  country  around 
here?" 

"No,"  answered  Charley,  "I  have  only  been  here  for 
a  short  time  and  am  not  much  acquainted,  neither  with 
the  country  nor  the  people. " 

"There's  a  man  somewhere  in  this  part  of  the  country 
that  is  living  the  life  of  a  hermit.  He  lives  here  some 
where  in  the  mountains  and  he  has  his  daughter  with 
him.  Possibly  you  may  have  heard  of  him?" 

"I  don't  know,"  answered  Charley;  '-I  have  heard  of 
several  hermits;  possibly  I  may  have  heard  of  this  one," 
answered  Charley,  immediately  interested.  "Do  you 
think  that  he  lives  near  here?" 

"Yes,  I  think  that  he  does.  I  have  a  good  reason 
for  thinking  so. " 

"I  have  heard,"  said  Charley,  "that  there's  an  old 
man  living  in  the  mountains  somewhere  out  here  in  the 
country.  But  who  is  the  hermit  that  you  speak  of?  Is 
he  a  friend  of  yours?" 

"Yes,  he  is  a  friend,"  answered  the  invalid,  "and  I 
am  very  anxious  to  find  him." 

"Perhaps  that  I  can  aid  you.  Tell  me  what  you 
know  of  his  whereabouts,  and  I  will  see  what  I  can  do." 

"It  is  a  long  story,"  he  said,  "a  story  that  I  would 
not  tell  to  other  than  a  friend.  You  have  been  a  friend 
to  me  and  I  believe,  that  I  can  trust  you.  This 
hermit's  name  is  James  Barnes.  A  few  years  ago,  he 
was  a  rich  and  prosperous  merchant  in  New  York.  He 
still  has  a  son  and  married  daughter  living  there.  He 


IIO  CONTINUES    HIS    STORY. 

has  another  daughter,  his  youngest,  with  him,  wherever 
he  is.  This  daughter,  Zell,  is  about  seventeen  now. 
She  had  a  lover,"  he  resumed  after  a  short  pause,  "and 
for  a  time,  all  went  well.  But  there  came  a  change. 
Mr.  Barnes  was  unfortunate  in  his  business  transactions, 
and,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  through  the  treachery  of 
supposed  friends,  he  was  ruined.  The  great  misfortune 
that  has  befallen  him,  together  with  some  business 
affair  that  he  was  unable  to  clear  up,  drove  him  from 
his  home  and  friends  to  this  country,  where  he  has 
buried  himself  and  daughter  in  obscurity." 

"If  I  mistake  not,  you  are,  or  ought  to  be  the  girl's 
lover,"  said  Charley." 

"Yes,"  he  answered,  "I  loved  her,  "but  there  was 
another,  a  more  fortunate  woer  than  I;  for  he  was  rich 
and  I  but  a  poor  clerk  in  her  father's  store.  Still  the 
girl  gave  encouragement,  while  her  father  forbade  me 
to  see  her  and,  at  the  same  time,  urged  her  to  accept 
my  rival.  There  was  some  business  transaction  that 
my  rival  knew  of,  that  implicated  Mr.  Barnes  crimin 
ally.  My  rival  used  his  knowledge  of  this  affair  to 
further  his  suit;  and  Mr.  Barnes,  in  order  to  save  him 
self,  urged  Zell  to  accept  him.  But  she  refused.  To 
escape  punishment,  Mr,  Barnes  was  compelled  to  leave 
No  one  knew  where  he  went;  but  I  have  traced  him  to 
this  country  and  since  I  came  here  I  have  learned  some 
thing  which  convinces  me  that  he  is  here  I  saw  Zell 
the  night  I  was  shot.  I  saw  her  in  company  with  my 
old  rival,  Jim  Kingsbury." 

"Do  you  know  what  the  secret  is  which  this  Kings- 
bury  threatened  to  expose?"  asked  Charley. 


TELLS  WHO  SHOT  HIM.  I  I  I 

''No,"  he  replied,   ''I  don't  know." 

"Well  I  can  enlighten  you  a  little  on  this  matter;  I 
am  a  detective  and  I  have  worked  a  little  on  this  case. 
These  parties — for  Miss  Barnes  is  implicated  in  this 
matter  as  well  as  her  father — are  forgers.  Miss  Barnes 
is  an  expert  penman  and  was,  no  doubt,  induced  to  do 
the  work  which  her  father  was  unable  to  do." 

"Sir,"  said  the  invalid  indignantly,  "don't  tell  me 
that  Zell  is  a  forger!" 

"Yes,  she  is  a  forger,  and  there's  a  reward  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  offered  for  their  arrest  and  return  to 
New  York." 

"I  don't  believe  it!"  he  said,  "you  are  misinformed, 
about  her,  at  least." 

"Not  hardly,  my  friend;  but  I  want  to  ask  you  a  few 
questions  now.  First — what  is  your  name?" 

"My  name  is  Frank  Smith." 

"Do  you  know  who  it  was  that  shot  you?"  asked 
Charley. 

"Yes.      It  was  Jim  Kingsbury." 

"He  wished  to  get  you  out  of  the  way,  I  suppose. 
Do  you  think  that  he  knows  where  this  Mr.  Barnes 
lives?" 

"Yes,  he  must;  for  I  saw  Zell  with  him." 

"I  will  look  this  girl  up.  Do  you  know  where  she  is, 
or  was,  staying  when  you  saw  her?" 

"No,  I  saw  them  down  town." 

"And  she  was  with  Kingsbury." 

"Yes." 

"Well,  I  will  look  him  up  too." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

KITTY. 

Straying  along  the  street  that  evening,  Charley  came 
to  the  Eldorado.  Entering  the  large  and  already  well 
filled  hall,  he  seated  himself  and  was  watching  the  gay 
throng  of  dancers;  but  no  sign  of  Kingsbury  was  to  be 
seen.  After  satisfying  himself  that  he  was  not  there, 
the  young  detective  arose  to  go,  when  he  was  accosted 
by  a  tall,  handsome  fellow,  known  as  the  *  'Masher. " 

"Hello,  old  fellow!"  exclaimed  the  masher. 

"All  right,  masher,  how's  yourself?"   replied   Charley. 

"Just  as  you  please,  Charley,"  replied  the  masher 
gayly.  "But  say,  old  fellow,  who  is  that  pretty  girl 
over  there?  See?"  and  he  pointed  her  out. 

"Don't  know,  masher;  never  saw  her  before,"  replied 
Charley,  looking  at  the  girl  closely.  Some  gay  siren,  I 
suppose — which  was  not  true,  for  Charley  knew  the  girl 
only  too  well;  for  it  was  none  other  than  his  little  friend 
Kitty  Barnes,  the  very  girl  of  all  others  that  he  would 
most  like  to  see.  "Ah,  but  she  is  a  beauty  though, 
isn't  she?" 

"She's  a  daisy!"  he  exclaimed,  "a  perfect  beauty! 
honest,  now,  don't  you  know  her?" 

"Never  saw  her  before,"  declared  Charley  emphat 
ically. 

"Don't  believe  it,  Charley!"  said  the  masher.  "I  saw 
her  looking  at  you  when  you  came  in  as  though  she 
knew  you." 

"Why  don't  you  go  and  get  acquainted  with  her?  you 
are  a  masher — go  in  and  try  your  luck." 

(112) 


CHARLEY  AND  KITTY. 


"I'll  wager  a  new  hat  that  I  dance  with  her  the  next 
set,"  he  said. 

"I  never  bet,  but  if  I  did,  I  would  take  you  up." 

"Ah,  here's  the  masher!"  cried  a  half  dozen  giddy 
girls,  as  they  seized  him  and  dragged  him  away,  each 
one  claiming  him  as  her  partner. 

"And  I  claim  this  gentleman  as  my  partner."  said  a 
tremulous,  faltering  voice;  and  a  light  hand  was  laid 
upon  Charley's  arm. 

"Kitty,  I  did  not  expect  to  find  you  in  such  a  place 
as  this!  What  does  it  mean,  Kitty,  have  you  deceived 
me?"  he  asked  in  a  tone  of  reproach. 

"Oh  Charley,  don't  speak  to  me  that  way,  don't  dis 
trust  me — I  am  all  right;  believe  me,  Charley,  I  am  an 
honest  girl,  indeed  I  am!" 

"I  don't  want  to  distrust  you,  Kitty,  but  I  didn't  ex 
pect  to  find  you  here.  Well,  how  are  you  getting  along 
anyway,  Miss  Kitty?" 

"Oh,  I  am  well  of  course — I  am  always  well.  But 
how  have  you  prospered  since  I  saw  you  last?" 

"All  right,  Miss—" 

"Don't  'Miss'  me,  please!   It  makes  me  tired!" 

"All  right,"  replied  Charley,  "henceforth,  then,  it's 
just  plain  Kitty." 

"That  will  suit  me.      Do  you  dance?" 

"No,  I  never  dance." 

"Nor  drink,  nor  gamble,  nor  play  cards.  I  can  trust 
you,  Charley." 

"I  hope,  I  am  worthy  of  your  confidence.  Have  you 
been  dancing?" 

"No.  Oh,  I  just  love  to  dance!  Can't  you  dance? 
Honest  now?" 


114  RENEWING  THEIR  OLD  FRIENDSHIP. 

"No,  no,  Kitty.  Why  didn't  you  dance  with  the 
masher;  didn't  he  ask  you?" 

"Yes,  but  I  don't  care  for  such  a  partner — no,  no, 
Charley,  I  don't  want  to  dance  here,  I  didn't  come  here 
to  dance;  though  I  would  dance  with  you — you  danced 
with  me  once,  don't  you  remember,  Charley?" 

"I  should  say  that  I  do!  I  won't  forget  that  night  very 
soon,  I  can  tell  you!  But,  Kitty,  what  are  you  doing 
here?" 

"My  brother  John  brought  me  here,"  she  said. 

"And  where  is  he?" 

"I  don't  know;  we  have  quarreled — we  couldn't  get 
along,  so  he  left  me  here. " 

"The  miserable  scoundrel — " 

"Don't,  Charley,  please  don't!"  she  exclaimed.  "He 
is  my  brother." 

"No  brother  would  leave  a  sister  in  such  a  place  as 
this!" 

"Oh,  he  didn't  leave  me  here  in  this  house,  Charley. 
I  came  here  to  see  if  I  couldn't  find  him.  I  know  what 
kind  of  a  place  it  is,  Charley,  and  I  know  the  risk  I  run 
in  coming  here,  but  I  have  run  risks  before.  But  I  want 
to  tell  you  what  has  happened.  I  can  trust  you,  I  know. 
I  am  in  trouble  and  I  want  a  friend." 

*  'You  need  not  go  any  further,  Kitty.  We  swore"once 
that  we  would  always  be  friends;  and  I  repeat  my  vow 
now.  So  help  me  God,  Kitty,  I  will  honor  you  as  I 
would  my  own  sister;  you  need  have  no  fear  of  me!" 

"Thank  you,  Charley;  and  may  God  bless  you  for  it! 
I  will  do  whatever  you  advise  me  to  do." 

"Tell  me  what  has  happened." 

1  'About  a  week  ago,  that  detective  that  was  with  you, 


KITTY  TELLS  HER  STORY.  I  I  5 

down  at  Bozeman,  came  back  from  Cincinnati  and  raided 
our  pkce.  My  brother  Frank,  uncle  Dick  and  another 
man  were  captured  and  taken  back  to  Cincinnati.  Father 
was  killed,  and  I  and  my  brother  John,  made  our  escape 
and  came  here.  My  brother  found  an  old  acquaintance 
here;  he  was  working  some  scheme  and,  of  course,  John 
went  in  with  him.  This  is  what  made  the  trouble  be 
tween  John  and  I.  He  accused  me  of  treachery.  He 
would  never  trust  me  after  I  helped  you  to  escape  that 
night  at  Bozeman.  So  he  left  me." 

"When  did  he  leave  you?" 

"This  morning,"  answered  Kitty.  He  and  Jim  Kings- 
bury — 

"Jim  Kingsbury!   By  thunder — 

"Please,  don't  swear,  Charley!  Do  you  know  him?" 
asked  Kitty. 

"Yes.      Do  you  know  where  he  went?" 

"No,  not  exactly.  But  I  heard  them  talking  last 
night  about  going  south  into  the  mountains.  There's 
an  old  hermit  that  lives  there  whom  they  want  to  find," 
said  Kitty. 

"Do  you  know  why  they  want  to  find  him?" 

"No,  I  don't,"  she  said,  "but  Jimmy  is  very  anxious 
to  find  him;  but  I  couldn't  find  out  what  for.  There  was 
something  said  about  a  girl;  and  there  was  something 
said  about  a  diamond — 

"You  say  that  he  lives  south  of  here  in  the  moun 
tains?" 

"That's  what  Jim  said." 

"And  there  was  something  said  about  a  girl?" 

"Yes.      That  interests  you,  don't  it?    But  why  are  you 


I  1 6  PRETTY  GIRLS  ALWAXS  AT  A  PREMIUM. 

so  interested,  Charley;  do  you  know  anything  about 
them?  or  is  it  the  girl?" 

"Hang  the  girls!"  exclaimed  he.  "I  have  no  faith  in 
them — they  are  but  a  fickle  set  of  nuisances!" 

"Is  that  your  opinion  of  me,  sir?"  asked  Kitty  quickly. 
"But  never  mind;  I  will  show  you!" 

"No  Kitty,  I  don't  think  that  of  you;  you  know  I 
don't.  But  this  hermit  and  his  daughter — Yes  I  know 
them,  or  of  them.  I  am  searching  for  them;  and  I  came 
here  to-night  in  the  hope  of  learning  something  about 
them.  I  was  fortunate  indeed,  that  I  found  you  here." 

"You  will  be  almost  tempted  to  forgive  me  for  being 
here  then,  won't  you?"  she  laughed. 

"Almost;  yes  I  will  be  altogether  tempted  and  more 
too.  But  it  is  getting  late  and  we  must  go  home — " 

"Go  home!"  she  said  sadly.  "Oh,  that  I  had  a  home 
to  go  to,  a  friend  in  whom  I  could  confide!" 

"Remember  Kitty,  lam  your  friend.  Can't  you  trust 
me?"  asked  Charley. 

"Yes,  yes,  I  can  trust  you,  Charley,  but  JI  don't  ask 
you  to  burden  yourself  with  me — a  girl  is  a  'nuisance' 
you  know." 

"There's  no  need  of  your  being  a  burden  to  anyone. 
If  I  had  a  dozen  such  pretty  girls  as  you,  I  could  find  a 
dozen  young  fellows  anxious  and  ready  to  relieve  me  of 
my  burdens — pretty  girls  are  always  at  a  premium . " 

"Thank  you  Charley,  thank  you;  you  are  very  kind 
to  me.  I  have  some  money  and  can  pay  my  way  all 
right;  though  I  don't  like  to  be  alone." 

"Come  home  with  me;  it's  a  good  place  and  you  will 
like  it  there .  You  will  be  in  good  company  and  well 


KITTY  FINDS  A  NEW  BOARDING  PLACE.       Ii; 

treated  there.  Do  you  want  to  go  to  your  boarding 
place  first,  or  will  you  go  with  me  now?" 

"I  will  go  with  you  if  you  think  that  it  will  be  all 
right." 

Oh,  it  will  be  all  right,  never  fear.  The  landlady  is  a 
kind  old  soul  and  will  be  only  too  glad  to  take  you  in. 
Be  honest  with  her  and  don't  try  to  deceive  her  about 
anything.  'Honesty  is  the  best  policy.' ' 

"So  you  have  told  me  before;  but  I  am  not  ashamed 
of  my  conduct,  I  don't  want  to  deceive  anyone,"  she  said. 
"Though  I  have  been  found  in  bad  company  and  am  a 
counterfeiter's  daughter,  I  am  not  dishonest." 

"Easy  now,  don't  get  angry  at  me.  I  may  talk  rather 
plain  some  times,  but  I  mean  well  by  you,  Kitty." 

"Oh,  I  am  not  angry  at  you;  I  know  your  advice  is 
good;  I  know  that  you  mean  well  by  me.  Say  whatever 
you  please  to  me,  Charley,  it's  all  right." 

"No  more  now,  for  here's  my  boarding  house.  Come 
in  and  I  will  introduce  you  to  my  hostess." 

Entering  the  parlor,  Charley  introduced  his  little 
friend  and  consigned  her  to  the  care  of  the  motherly  old 
lady. 

"Well,  what  news?"  asked  the  invalid,  as  Charley  en 
tered  his  room.  "Did  you  find  the  girl?" 

"Good  news,"  replied  Charley,  "and,  yes  I  found  the 
girl.  I  have  found  a  clew  which,  I  think,  will  guide  me 
to  the  hermit's  retreat;  besides,  I  found  the  girl  you  saw, 
and  brought  her  home  with  me. " 

"Where  is  she?  let  me  see  her!"  he  cried  excitedly. 

"Not  to-night.  It  is  not  Zell  at  all.  It  is  her  cousin 
Kitty." 


I  I  8  ON  HIS  WAY  TO  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

"Then  it's  not  the  girl  I  saw,"  he  said  in  disappoint 
ment. 

"Yes,  it's  the  same  girl;  she  was  with  Kingsbury." 

"Let  me  see  her!" 

"Not  to-night.  I  must  be  off  directly.  I  am  going 
down  there  and  look  up  this  Barnes,"  said  Charley. 

"When  will  you  start?" 

"In  five  minutes,"  said  Charley.  "I  will  leave  my 
little  friend  Kitty  with  you." 

"Your  friend?" 

"Yes,  she  is  an  old  friend  of  mine." 

"Won't  you  introduce  her  to  me  before  you  go?"  he 
asked. 

"No,  I  will  leave  that  to  the  landlady.  I  will  leave 
her  with  you  to  keep  you  company,  and  all  I  ask  is  that 
you  don't  lose  your  head  or  your  heart  as  the  case  may 
be,  before  I  return." 

"Never  fear,  your  friend  will  be  safe  with  me.  I  sup 
pose,  she  is  a  very  particular  friend,  eh?" 

"Oh  no!  just  an  every  day  friend,  that's  all.  But  I 
give  you  fair  warning — she's  dangerous.  But  I  must  be 
off.  I  don't  want  any  one  to  know  anything  about  it, 
so  I  will  go  to-night. " 

A  half  hour  later  he  was  on  the  way  to  the  mountains 
which  lay  some  thirty  miles  to  the  south,  and  by  morn 
ing,  had  reached  the  foot  hills. 


A  HEINOUS  CRIME. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    PLOTTERS. 

"Kingsbury,"  said  John  Barnes,  "what  is  your  plan  ? 
If  I  am  to  take  a  hand  in  this  matter,  I  must  know  all 
about  it.  I  want  to  know  just  what  I  am  to  get  out  of 
it;  it's  a  job  I  don't  exactly  like.  Old  Barnes  is  an  uncle 
of  mine;  but,  of  course,  he  must  be  put  out  of  the  way. 
He's  getting  old  anyway  and  it  won't  shorten  his  lease 
of  life  but  a  little,  at  most.  But  how  are  we  to  operate? 
And  what  am  I  to  get  out  of  it?  That's  the  point." 

"I  will  give  you  a  thousand  dollars,  or  we  will  divide 
the  plunder  between  us;  just  as  you  choose.  The  old 
man,  so  the  Indians  say,  has  considerable  wealth. 
There's  a  half-breed  that  I  got  acquainted  with,  that 
told  me  of  a  diamond  which  the  old  man  purchased 
from  some  Indians  that  is  worth  a  fortune.  There's  a 
legend  connected  with  the  stone,  which  is  reported  by 
the  Indians." 

"But  I  have  no  faith  in  the  stories  of  these  Indians!" 
exclaimed  Barnes.  "He  may  have  a  diamond  or  he  may 
have  nothing  at  all.  There's  no  confidence  to  be  placed 
in  the  stories  of  these  Indians." 

"Well,  I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  Kingsbury,  "I 
have  heard  of  this  diamond  before.  It  is  called  the 
'Great  Medicine-stone',  and  according  to  the  stories  of 
white  men  that  have  seen  it,  it  must  be  very  valuable." 

"Well,  I  will  go  and  help  you  get  the  girl,  and  if  we 
get  the  stone,  I  will  take  that  for  my  share  and  you  may 
have  the  girl — you  said,  she  was  all  you  wanted,*  said 
Barnes. 

"Yes,"  said  Kingsbury,   "the  girl  is  all  I  want." 


120  A  VILLAINOUS  COMPACT. 

"Well,   how  are  we  to  operate?" 

"I  will  tell  you.  We  will  go  down  to  the  Indian 
village  and  get  a  few  of  them  to  go  with  us.  They  know 
where  the  old  man  lives,  and  will  help  us  for  the  plun 
der." 

"But  won't  they  give  us  trouble?  If  they  know  about 
this  diamond,  they  will  try  to  get  it." 

"A  half  dozen  of  them  is  all  we  want;  we  can  manage 
that  many  all  right .  A  couple  quarts  of  whisky  will  put 
them  in  shape,  so  that  we  can  dispose  of  them,"  he  said; 
and  there  was  a  wicked  gleam  in  his  evil  eyes,  as  he 
said  it . 

"Yes,"  said  Barnes,  "that  plan  will  work  all  right; 
but  how  are  we  to  dispose  of  the  old  man,  so  that  the  girl 
will  know  nothing  about  it?" 

"Oh,  that's  just  as  easy — we  must  get  the  Indians  to 
make  an  attack  upon  the  cabin,  kill  the  old  man  and 
capture  the  girl;  then  we  will  come  in  and  rescue  her,  of 
course.  That  will  make  it  appear  all  right." 

*  'That's  all  right  as  far  as  the  girl  is  concerned,  but 
the  stone,  how  are  we  to  find  that?" 

"The  girl  will  know  all  about  it.  If  the  old  man  has 
hid  it,  she  will  know  where  it  is.  But  the  chances  are 
that  she  has  it  herself." 

Thus,  as  the  two  men  rode  on  toward  the  Indian  vil 
lage,  they  laid  their  plans.  One  to  gain  possession  of  a 
valuable  diamond,  the  other  to  gain  possession  of  a 
beautiful  girl,  and  both,  to  not  only  rob  an  old  man,  but 
to  murder  him  as  well. 

After  reaching  the  village,  they  found  no  difficulty  in 
obtaining  the  desired  assistance.  The  half-breed,  of 


A  HEINOUS  CRIME.  121 

whom  Kingsbury  had  spoken,  and  five  others,  were  hired 
for  a  small  sum  and  the  promise  of  plunder. 

These  Indians  knew  where  the  old  hermit  lived,  and 
soon  led  the  two  white  men  to  the  vicinity.  Here  they 
camped  to  watch  for  an  opportunity  to  carry  out  their, 
villainous  plot. 

A  week  had  passed,  still,  as  yet,  nothing  had  been 
done.  The  two  white  men,  disguised  as  Indians,  had 
visited  the  hermit,  and  had  watched  him  day  by  day,  in 
hopes  of  learning  something  about  the  treasure.  But 
as  yet,  nothing  had  been  learned. 

"John,"  said  Kingsbury,  as  he  returned  one  day  from 
a  fruitless  visit  to  the  hermitage,  "the  old  man  has  gone 
out  hunting;  I  watched  him  till  I  was  satisfied  where  he 
was  going;  Now  I  propose,  that  we  follow  him  and  settle 
this  business  with  him,  without  the  aid  of  the  Indians. 
I  believe  that  he  carries  the  diamond  with  him.  If  he 
does,  we  can  get  it,  and  the  Indians  won't  be  none  the 
wiser  nor  richer.  Once  the  old  man  is  out  of  the  way, 
I  can  manage  the  girl  all  right." 

This  was  agreed  to;  and  so,  taking  their  guns,  the 
two  men  followed  the  hermit's  trail  for  two  or  three 
miles,  when  they  came  suddenly  upon  him  in  a  dark, 
dreary  part  of  the  forest . 

He  was  standing  with  his  back  toward  them  and  did 
not  hear  their  stealthy  approach. 

"Ah,"  whispered  Kingsbury,  as  he  caught  the  gleam 
of  some  bright,  glittering  object  which  the  hermit  was 
holding  in  his  hand?  "it's  the  diamond!  "Now,"  he 
whispered,  "is  our  time!" 

Instantly  two  rifles  were  raised,  and  then,  almost  at 
the  instant  of  the  report,  the  old  man  turned  and  saw 


122  MORE  PLOTTING. 

the  assassins;  but  it  was  too  late.  Two  reports  rang 
out  upon  the  still  evening  air  and  the  old  hermit,  utter 
ing  a  cry  of  anguish,  fell. 

Wrestling  the  blood-bought  treasury  from  the  nerveless 
fingers,  the  assasins  fled. 

"Now,"  said  Kingsbury,  as  they  made  their  way  back 
toward  camp,  "for  the  girl.  The  Indians  shall  make 
their  attack  to-night,  and  before  morning,  I  will  rescue 
Zell  and  bear  her  away  in  triumph!" 

"Quite  likely  that  you  can  manage  the  girl  all  right, 
but  I  want  to  tell  you  that,  if  she  is  anything  like  Kitty, 
you  will  have  trouble  with  her!" 

"Oh,  I  can  manage  her;  never  fear.  She  isn't  like 
Kitty.  She  is  as  quiet  and  gentle  as  a  lamb — " 

"Yes,  and  so  is  Kitty.  She  is  all  right  if  any  one 
uses  her  right;  but  you  just  stroke  her  the  wrong  way  of 
the  fur,  and  then  look  out!" 

"Well,  I  will  take  my  chances  on  that.  All  I  ask,  is 
to  get  her  in  my  power,  and  I  will  guarantee,  that  before 
many  days  she  will -be  willing  to  marry  me.  Yes,  by  the 
time  that  we  reach  the  settlements,  I  will  have  her  per 
suaded." 

Thus  this  consumate  villain,    plotting   the    ruin    of   a 
fair  young  girl,  whose  hands  were  still  red  with  the  life- 
blood  of  her  father,  and  in  company  with  the  girl's  own 
cousin,  boasted  of  his  hellish  plan  in  language  that  can 
not  be  used  here. 


CHARLEY  AND  ZELL. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

ZELL. 

It  was  a  little  after  daylight  when  Charley  reached  the 
foothills  and  stopped  to  eat  a  bite  which  he  had  brought 
along  with  him.  He  had  learned  that  there  was  an  In 
dian  village  somewhere  near,  and  he  decided  to  look  it 
up  and  try  to  learn  something  from  them.  This  he  did; 
for  he  was  fortunate  in  finding  the  village  that  day  along 
toward  evening. 

Here  he  learned  that  the  old  hermit  lived  about  ten 
miles  to  the  southwest.  Setting  out  in  that  direction, 
he  searched  for  several  days  without  finding  the  her 
mitage. 

One  day,  along  toward  evening,  tired  and  almost 
starved,  he  was  following  along  a  little  brook  in  the  dark 
and  alnost  impenetrable  forest,  when  he  emerged  into  a 
small  opening,  almost  in  the  centre  of  which  stood  a 
neat,  little  log  cabin. 

It  was  a  pretty  picture.  Surrounded  upon  all  sides 
as  it  was  by  snow-capped  mountains  and  dark,  ever 
green  forests.  But  beautiful  as  was  the  scene,  his  eyes 
rested  upon  an  object  that,  in  that  wild,  strange  land, 
quickly  banished  all  thoughts  of  nature's  scenic  beauty 
from  his  mind.  This  object  was  a  girl.  Graceful  in 
form,  beautiful  in  feature,  she  stood  a  veritable  fairy 
queen.  With  large,  lustrous,  blue  eyes  and  golden  hair, 
which  hung  in  one  long  braid  far  below  her  waist  like  a 
braid  of  shining  gold.  Arrayed  in  a  neat,  close  fitting 
costume  which  showed  her  slight  figure  in  graceful  out 
lines,  she  made  a  picture  that,  in  that  wild,  rough 

(123) 


124  A  NEW  FRIENDSHIP. 

country,  was  well  calculated  to  make  glad  the  heart  of  a 
young  man. 

An  involuntary  exclamation  of  surprise  and  fear  fell 
from  her  lips  as  she  saw  a  stranger  approach  her. 

4 'Ah,  Miss  Barnes,"  said  Charley,  as  he  approached 
and  raised  his  hat  in  salutation,  "I  beg  pardon  for  my  in 
trusion;  but  I  want  to  see  you  and  your  father  on  some 
very  important  business.  Don't  be  alarmed  Miss  Barnes, '' 
he  said,  noticing  a  mild,  frightened  look  in  her  eyes.  "I 
am  a  friend  and  assure  you  I  will  do  all  in  my  power  to 
aid  you  and  your  father." 

"My  father  is  not  at  home,"  she  said,  and  an  anxious, 
troubled  look  stole  over  her  fair,  young  face.  '  'But  come 
in  please.  I  was  looking  for  father;  he  will  be  here 
soon." 

Placing  a  chair  for  him,  she  went  to  the  door  and 
watched  for  her  father;  but  he  would  never  come  again- 
As  she  watched,  the  sun  sank  slowly  behind  the  western 
hills. 

"Oh  father!"  she  moaned,   "why  don't  he  come?" 

"Do  you  know  where  your  father  went?"  asked 
Charley. 

"No,"  she  replied,  "I  don't  know." 

"Does  he  often  go  away  and  leave  you  alone?" 

"No,  sir;  he  never  did  before." 

"Why  did  he  leave  you  alone  to-day?" 

"He  did  not  intend  to  be  gone  but  a  few  minutes;  and, 
as  I  was  busy  with  my  work,  I  did  not  go  with  him. 
We  are  getting  ready  to  leave  here.  We  intend  to  leave 
to-morrow." 

"If  I  knew  where  to  lookfor  him,"  said  the  detective, 


TAKING   SUPPER. 

"I  would  go  and  see  if  I  could  find  him.  Do  you  have 
any  idea  where  he  would  be  likely  to  go?  Does  he  have 
any  particular  place  where  he  goes  in  search  of  game?" 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  "he  generally  goes  to  the  'Lick,' 
as  he  calls  it." 

"Perhaps  that  he  has  gone  there.  Tell  me  the  way 
and  I  will  go  and  see  if  I  can  find  him,"  said  Charley. 

"I  will  go  with  you,"  she  answered.  "I  am  afraid  to 
stay  here  alone." 

"What  are  you  afraid  of?" 

"I  don't  know,"  she  answered,  "but  I  am  afraid  that 
something  has  happened  to  father.  He  told  me  to-day 
that  the  Indians  did  not  act  as  friendly  when  they  came 
here  as  they  used  to,  and  he  was  afraid  something  was 
wrong," 

"Have  you  seen  any  Indians  around  here  laterly?" 

"Yes,  there  were  some  here  yesterday." 

"Ah,  yes,  and  how  many  were  there  of  them?" 

"There  were  three." 

"There  were  no  white  men  with  them,  were  there?" 
he  asked. 

"No;  you  are  the  first  white  man  I  have  seen  for  a 
year.  Excuse  me,  but  I  was  so  anxious  about  father 
that  I  forgot  to  offer  you  some  supper.  We  have  not 
much,  but  you  are  welcome;  please  sit  up  and  partake  of 
what  little  we  have." 

"Thank  you,  Miss  Barnes;  you  have  a  plenty,  I  am 
sure.  Much  more  and  infinitely  better  than  I  am  used  to 
having.  But  about  those  Indians,  Miss  Barnes, — you 
say  they  have  acted  strange  of  late.  Did  your  father 
know  them?"  ask  the  detective,  as  he  seated  himself  at 
the  table. 


126  IN  SEARCH  OF  THE  OLD  HERMIT. 

"No  sir,"  she  answered,  "they  were  strangers." 
"By  ginger,"  he  thought,  "I  wonder  if  those  two 
devils  have  disguised  themselves  as  Indians  and  are  spy 
ing  upon  the  old  man.  This  is  the  girl  that  that  Kingsbury 
and  Frank  have  been  fighting  for.  By  thunder  now,  I 
don't  wonder  much  at  it  either!  I  would  fight  for  her 
myself.  Let  me  see,"  he  said  aloud,  you  say  there  were 
three  of  these  strangers?" 

"No,  father  knew  one  of  them;  two   were  strangers/' 
"Two  strangers,"   he  mused,    "what  for  looking  men 
were  they?" 

"One  of  them  was  a  large,  heavy,  rough  looking 
man— 

"Ah!"  exclaimed  Charley,   "and  the  other!" 
"The  other  was  a  small,  slim  and  rather  nice  looking 
fellow,"  she  answered. 

"You  noticed  him  in  particular,  I  suppose." 
"Will  you  have  another  cup  of  coffee?"    she  asked, 
evasively. 

"No,  thanks — I  have  drinked  too  much  already. 
Now,  I  am  ready  to  go.  You  think  you  would  know 
where  he  would  be  likely  to  go,  do  you?" 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  as  they  started  out  together. 
"By  thunder!"  mused  Charley,  as  his  companion  led 
the  way,  "I  believe  that  those  two  Indians  were  no  other 
than  John  Barnes  and  Jim  Kingsbury  in  disguise.  I 
wonder  what  their  game  is  any  way?  By  ginger,  now! 
is  it  possible  that  they  have  been  watching  the  old  man 
and  have  waylaid  and,  possibly,  murdered  him?  Some 
thing  is  wrong,  or  he  would  have  been  back  before 
now. " 


THE  VILLAINS  OVERHEARD.  I2/ 

For  half  an  hour,  they  tramped  on  through  the  dark 
forest,  growing  darker  and  gloomier  as  the  shadows  of 
night  gathered  around  them.  All  nature  seemed  hushed 
in  a  silent  and  deep  repose.  But  suddenly,  out  upon 
the  still  evening  air,  rang  out  clear  and  distinct,  the  re 
port  of  two  rifle  shots,  fired  almost  simultaneously. 

Zell  clutched  her  companion's  arm  and  listened  in 
breathless  and  eager  silence.  But  all  was  still  again. 

"Oh,  sir,"  cried  Zell,  "do  you  think  that  it  was  my 
father  who  fired  those  shots?" 

"Perhaps  so,"  said  the  detective,  but  he  did  not  dare 
tell  her  just  what  he  thought.  "No,"  he  thought,  "he 
did  not  fire  those  two  shots.  He  may  have  fired  one  of 
them,  but  not  both — he  couldn't  have  fired  two  shots  so 
nearly  together.  Ah,"  he  mused,  "if  those  scoundrels 
have  followed  the  old  man,  those  shots  may  mean  more 
than  I  would  care  to  tell  her." 

By  this  time,  they  had  reached  the  'Lick'  and  had 
stopped  and  were  listening  in  the  hope  of  hearing  some 
sound  to  guide  them,  when  the  silence  was  broken  by 
the  sound  of  voices. 

—  "Well,  you  are  welcome  to  the  girl;  just  manage 
her  to  suit  yourself,"  came  in  the  voice  of  John  Barnes. 
"But  I'll  tell  you,  Jim,  we  have  got  to  get  out  of  here 
before  the  Indians  find  out  what  we  have  done,  or  they 
will  make  trouble  for  us.  They  are  crazy  to  get  posses 
sion  of  that  diamond,  and  if  they  knew  that  we  have  got 
it,  they  would  be  after  us." 

'  'They  won't  know  that  we  have  got  it,  we  will  tell 
them  that  the  old  man  has  concealed  it  somewhere  about 
the  cabin.  But  come,  let's  hurry  on  for  the  Indians  will 


128  WRANGLING    OVER    THE    SPOILS. 

be  getting  impatient.  They  are  waiting  for  us  at  the 
cabin  by  this  time,  and  there's  no  telling  what  they  may 
do  if  they  find  out  that  the  old  man  is  away." 

"Now,"  continued  Jim,  "that  the  old  man  is  out  of 
the  way,  we  will  have  everything  all  our  own  way.  Zell 
won't  suspect  anything,  for  she  thinks  that  I  am  all 
right.  So  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  carry  out  our  plan  just 
as  we  started  out.  Let  the  Indians  attack  the  cabin, 
and  carry  off  the  girl,  then  we  will  sail  in  and  rescue  her; 
and  then — ah,  well  I  can  persuade  her.  Of  course  she 
will  think  that  the  Indians  killed  the  old  man.  It  was  a 
streak  of  good  luck  that  we  met  him  in  the  woods  this 
evening,  for  we  are  rid  of  him  and  have  got  the  diamond 
besides,  which,  if  I  mistake  not,  will  be  a  fortune  for 
us." 

"I  had  no  faith  in  that  diamond  story,"  said  John; 
"but  it  is  more  valuable  even  than  the  stories  repre 
sented  it." 

"Neither  had  I,"  replied  Jim,  "and  I  was  willing  to 
let  the  Indians  have  all  the  plunder,  but  we  have  got  it, 
and  we  will  keep  it." 

"Well,"  said  John,  "I  don't  know  as  you  have  any 
title  to  it;  and,  as  you  will  get  the  girl,  which  was  all 
you  wanted,  I  think  that  I  will  lay  claim  to  the  treasure 
for  my  share  of  the  spoils.  I  am  a  sort  of  heir  anyway, 
you  know." 

"Not  hardly,"  said  Jim.  "I  have  a  much  right  to  it 
as  you  have,  and  I  will — 

"It  makes  no  difference;  you  came  here  to  get  the 
girl;  all  plunder  was  to  fall  to  me  and  the  Indians.  I 
have  got  the  stone  and  I  will  keep  it!  You  murdered 
the  old  man  and — " 


ZELL  FAINTS.  I2Q 

Further  conversation  was  checked;  for,  as  he  uttered 
those  awful  words,  "You  have  murdered  the  old  man," 
Zell  threw  up  her  hands  and,  with  a  low,  agonized  cry, 
fell  fainting  into  the  detective's  arms. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

A    NIGHT    OF    HORROR. 

There  was  no  time  to  lose,  for  thought  or  plans;  for, 
as  that  agonized  cry  fell  upon  the  ears  of  the  assassins, 
who  were  scarcely  fifty  feet  away,  and  who,  realizing  as 
they  did  from  whose  lips  it  came,  dashed  forward  in 
pursuit  of  their  victim.  Well  did  they  know  that  their 
villainous  plot  was  known,  and  that  nothing  now  re 
mained  but  to  capture  her. 

Quickly  raising  the  girl  in  his  arms,  the  detective 
dashed  away  into  the  forest .  Darkness  hid  them  from 
view,  and,  for  a  time,  the  sound  of  their  pursuers  guided 
him  in  his  flight. 

At  last,  from  sheer  exhaustion,  the  detective  was  com 
pelled  to  stop.  Their  pursuers  could  still  be  heard,  but  it 
was  plain  that  he  had  succeeded  in  eluding  them,  for 
the  sound  of  footsteps  passed  on  and  soon  died  away  in 
the  distance. 

"Ah,"  said  Charley,  kneeling  down  by  the  side  of  the 
unconscious  girl,  "poor  child — poor  little  woman,  we 
are  safe  for  a  while  at  least,  safe  till  morning!"  Chaf 
ing  her  hands  and  temples  briskly,  he  soon  had  the  satis 
faction  of  restoring  her  to  consciousness. 

At  last,  she  opened  her  eyes  and  looked  about  her  in 
a  wild  and  frightened  manner,  and  moaned — 

"Father!  father!  Oh,  my  God,  they  have  murdered 
him!" 

"Hush,"  said  Charley,  raising  her  to  her  feet,  "hush, 
they  will  hear  us.  Cheer  up;  don't  give  up  so;  it  may 
not  be  so  bad!" 

(130) 


A  NOVEL  GUIDE. 


A  TERRIFIC  STORM.  13! 

"Oh,  sir!"  she  moaned,   "is  there  any  hope?" 

"For  us  there  is,  but  I  suppose  your  father  is  dead." 

"Oh  God!"  she  sobbed,   "what  can  I  do?" 

"Trust  to  me,  Miss  Zell,"  he  said,  "I  will  protect  you; 
as  long  as  I  have  life  and  strength,  no  harm  shaH  come 
to  you.  Come,  now;  can  you  walk!" 

"Yes,  I  think  so, "  she  replied. 

"Come  then,  let's  get  away  from  here.  Take  my  arm 
and  let  me  help  you,  Our  only  hope  is  to  get  away 
from  here  before  morning." 

For  an  hour,  they  tramped  on,  not  knowing  where 
they  were  going.  The  darkness  had  become  so  intense 
that  they  could  no  longer  distinguish  one  another,  mak 
ing  it  almost  impossible  for  them  to  pick  their  way 
through  the  dense  forest. 

Now,  too,  the  distant  rumbling  of  thunder  told  them 
of  an  approaching  storm . 

Dragging  themselves  wearily  beneath  the  drooping 
branches  of  a  spruce  tree,  which  would  shelter  them 
from  the  coming  storm,  Charley  bade  his  companion  to 
lie  down  and  rest. 

"There,"  he  said,  as  he  wrapped  his  coat  about  her, 
"that  will  keep  you  warm;  now  go  to  sleep  and  rest  if 
you  can.  You  will  feel  better.  I  will  watch." 

For  two  hours,  the  storm  raged  and  the  girl  slept. 
Protected  from  the  rain  by  the  sheltering  branches  over 
head,  and  snugly  and  warmly  wrapped  in  the  detective's 
coat,  the  tired  girl  was  soundly  sleeping,  when  a  vivid 
flash  of  lightning,  followed  by  a  peal  of  thunder  which 
shook  the  mountains  to  their  very  foundations,  brought 
the  sleeping  girl  back  from  her  happy  dreams  to  the 
stern  reality  of  her  hard  and  cruel  lot. 


132  A  NOVEL  GUIDE. 

"Oh,  how  could  I  sleep,"  she  cried,  "while  poor 
father  lies  dead,  or  dying  alone  in  these  cold,  dreary 
woods!" 

"Sh — ,  listen,"  said  the  detective,  "I  can  hear  some 
thing!" 

Listening,  they  could  hear  the  sound  of  footsteps; 
soft  and  low  they  sounded,  as  something  cautiously 
approached  them. 

Listening,  with  his  gun  in  readiness,  the  detective 
stood  and  watched,  and  waited  for  the  intruder.  Again 
came  the  sound;  now,  wearily  approaching  to  within  a 
few  feet  of  them,  then  paused,  as  if  to  consider  the  pos 
sibilities  of  the  situation. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Zell  in  low  whisper,  as  she 
crouched  close  to  Charley's  side. 

"It's  only  a  bear,"  he  said,  as  it's  shaggy  outlines  be 
came  visible  in  the  darkness,  "Don't  be  afraid,  he  won't 
molest  us,  I  think.  He  is  only  trying  to  satisfy  his  curi 
osity  as  to  what  kind  of  creatures  we  are." 

Just  then,  a  low,  indistinct  cry  fell  upon  the  ears  of 
the  trio.  The  bear  seemed  to  be  the  most  interested  in 
it,  for  he  pricked  up  his  ears  and  listened  intently  for  a 
repetition  of  the  sound.  It  sounded  a  long  way  off;  so 
faint,  so  low  and  indistinct,  that  they  could  not  tell 
whether  it  came  from  human  lips  or  from  some  wild 
animal. 

The  bear,  after  listening  awhile,  started  off  in  the 
direction  from  whence  the  sound  came.  So  acute  of 
hearing,  perhaps  it  had  sounded  more  distinct  to  the 
bear  than  it  had  to  his  strange  companions.  At  any  rate, 
his  curiosity  prompted  him  to  follow  up  the  sound  and 
satisfy  himself  as  to  its  cause 


FOLLOWING  THE  DUMB  GUIDE.  133 

"Come,"  said  Charley,  "as  the  bear  started  off,  "let's 
follow  after  him  and  see  what  it  was  that  made  that 
noise.  He  will  hunt  it  up."  Silently,  they  followed 
after  their  dumb  guide. 

Some  two  hundred  yards  or  more,  they  followed, 
when,  suddenly,  they  came  upon  the  bear,  who,  becom 
ing  dissatisfied,  or  from  curiosity's  sake,  had  stopped  to 
investigate  matters  a  little.  As  they  came  up,  he 
greeted  them  with  an  angry  growl,  as  he  turned  and 
reared  upon  his  haunches  and  waited  as  if  expecting  an 
immediate  attack  from  the  intruders.  But  the  detective 
had  no  desire  for  an  encounter  with  Mr.  Bruin. 

A  slight  movement  from  the  girl  was  greeted  with  an 
angry  growl  and  the  displaying  of  a  set  of  shining  ivory, 
while  the  little,  black,  beadrlike  eyes  of  the  monster 
gleamed  viciously  upon  the  fair  little  creature  whom  he 
seemed  to  consider  with  so  much  fear  and  suspicion . 

"Don't  be  afraid,"  said  Charley,  as  the  girl  shrunk 
back  from  the  presence  of  the  shaggy  monster,  and 
stepped  so  confidently  to  his  side.  Don't  be  afraid,  I 
can  kill  him  if  I  have  to,  but  I  don't  want  to  shoot  if  I 
can  help  it,  for  the  report  of  my  gun  will  attract  other 
and  more  dangerous  enemies  than  he  is." 

Involuntarily  the  detective's  strong  right  arm  stole 
around  the  slender,  trembling  form  of  his  little  com 
panion  and  drew  her  yielding  form  close  to  his  side. 
Somehow,  that  strong,  friendly  embrace  sent  a  feeling  of 
security,  a  thrill  of  hope  to  the  weary  heart  of  the  friend 
less,  homeless,  little  orphan  girl.  She  felt  that  she 
could  trust  this  great,  good-natured  fellow.  Instinc 
tively,  she  clung  to  him  for  protection.  To  this  man 


134          CHARLEY  OFFERS  PROTECTION. 

whom,  but  a  few  hours  before,  she  looked  upon  with  a 
feeling  of  dread,  of  fear  well-nigh  akin  to  despair.  As 
she  felt  the  pressure  of  that  strong,  protecting  arm,  she 
raised  her  wild,  wandering  blue  eyes  to  his  and  mur 
mured — 

"Oh,  sir,  you  are  so  very,  very  kind  to  me  and  I 
thank  you  so  much;  but  oh,  I  would  a  thousand  times 
rather  that  you  would  let  me  die  here  in  these  dark, 
dreary  forests  and  mountains,  than  for  you  to  take  me 
back  to  New  York,  a  prisoner,  to  be  convicted  a  criminal 
and  sent  to  prison .  Oh,  that  I  could  die  here  with  my 
father  and  forever  bury  with  us  that  miserable  crime — a 
crime  that  has  haunted  me  day  and  night  ever  since  the 
fatal  work  was  done!  Oh,  I  know,  my  heart  tells  me 
you  are  a  detective  and  have  hunted  me  down  to  drag 
me  back  to  be  punished  for  my  crime!  Yes,  I  am  guilty, 
I  forged  the  checks!  Oh,  I  have  dreamed  of  this — 
dreamed  that  I  was  dragged  away  from  my  father  by  the 
hand  of  strangers.  But,  alas!  I  have  no  right  to  ask  for 
mercy;  I  am  guilty;  take  me  and  do  with  me  as  you 
will — I  am  your  prisoner!" 

"No,  no;  don't  talk  so,  my  little  friend.  You  are  not 
my  prisoner.  I  have  not  come  here  to  arrest  you . 
Trust  me,  little  woman,  for  I  am  your  friend;  and  so 
long  as  God  gives  me  life  and  strength,  I  will  honor  and 
protect  yon,  so  have  no  fear  of  me.  You  are  just  as  safe 
with  me  as  you  would  be  with  your  own  father,  perhaps 
safer,  for  I  am  better  able  to  protect  you  against  your 
enemies  here  than  he  was.  I  know  the  story  of  that 
forgery,  and  I  know  whose  hand  it  was  that  did  the 
deed.  It  was  not  your  fault,  you  but  obeyed  the  request 


STILL  ON  THE  SEARCH.  135 

of  your  father  in  doing  the  work;  you  are  not  responsi 
ble  for  your  act. " 

'  'Oh,  sir!"  murmured  the  girl  in  the  gratefulness  of  her 
heart,  "you  are  so  kind,  so  generous;  perhaps  too  much 
so,  for  others  may  not  see  and  understand  my  guilt  as 
you  do.  But,  to  whom  am  I  indebted  for  all  this  gen 
erous  kindness,  and  the  hope  that  it  brings  to  my  ach 
ing  heart?" 

*  'Charley  Shipton  is  my  name.  I  am  a  detective,  and 
I  am  off  on  a  summer's  vacation,  but  I  came  here  to  find 
you  and  your  father.  But,  I  surpose,  your  father  is 
dead;  you  are  but  a  girl,  and  I  am  free  to  act  as  I 
please;  so  you  may  depend  upon  it.  I  will  do  nothing 
that  will  cause  you  to  regret  my  coming." 

"Oh,  thank  you,  sir!  exclaimed  Zell,   thankfully. 

"Hark,  did  you  hear  anything?"  asked  Charley. 

"No,  but  see,  the  bear  acts  as  if  he  heard  some 
thing." 

"Here  it  is  again!" 

"Oh  sir,"  cried  Zell.  "do  you  think  that  it  might  be 
my  father?" 

"I  don't  know,"  he  replied,  but  he  dared  not  tell  her 
what  he  thought;  for  it  was  in  that  vicinity  that  those 
two  shots  were  fired  which  had  attracted  their  attention 
in  the  evening.  Knowing,  as  he  did,  after  hearing  the 
conversation  of  the  two  assassins,  that  they  had  met  and 
shot  the  girl's  father,  he  believed  that  that  cry  he  had 
heard  and  which  had  attracted  the  bear's  attention,  was 
her  father's. 

Shot  down  and  left  to  die,  he  had,  in  his  agony, 
uttered  the  cry  which  they  had  heard.  Believing  this, 


136  FINDING  THE  HERMIT. 

and  kuowing  the  natural  instinct  of  the  bear  would  lead 
him  to  the  object,  whatever  it  might  be,  Charley  had 
followed,  in  the  hope  of  finding  the  murdered  man. 

Again,  the  bear,  who  had  remained  so  long  inactive, 
as  if  studying  and  trying  to  satisfy  his  curiosity  as  to  the 
nature  of  his  visitors,  began  to  show  signs  of  uneasiness, 
by  pointing  his  nose  in  the  direction  from  which  the 
sound  had  come,  and  sniffing  like  a  hungry  dog  that 
scents  food. 

Just  then,  out  upon  the  still  morning  air  came  a  low 
moan,  followed  by  the  one  word — "Zell." 

With  a  glad  cry,  Zell  darted  forward,  heedless  of  the 
great,  shaggy  beast,  who  stood  almost  in  her  path  and 
nearly  running  against  the  bear  in  her  eager  haste. 

"Father,  father!"  she  called,  as  she  ran  swiftly  in  the 
direction  from  whence  the  sound  had  come. 

Walking  cautiously  around  the  bear,  Charley  soon 
came  upon  a  scene  that  would  have  softened  a  harder 
heart  than  his. 

Down  upon  the  cold,  wet  ground,  with  her  dying 
father's  head  pillowed  upon  her  throbbing  bosom,  sat 
Zell,  crying  and  sobbing  piteously. 

With  bowed  and  bared  head  the  detective  stood  and 
watched  the  sad  scene  of  a  dying  father  who,  with  a 
feeble,  faltering  voice,  was  praying  God  to  protect  his 
child  whom  he,  so  soon,  would  be  compelled  to  leave 
to  the  mercy  of  a  stranger,  away  in  the  far  off  forests 
of  Montana. 

Fainter  and  fainter  grew  the  feeble,  faltering  accents. 
But  rallying  a  little,  he  turned  his  wistful  gaze  upon 
the  detective. 


THE  DYING  MAN'S  INJUNCTION  137 

"Let  me  examine  your  wound  first,"  said  Charley, 
kneeling  by  his  side. 

"It's  no  use,  said  the  dying  man,  as  the  detective, 
with  skillful  fingers,  bandaged  the  wound  in  his  side. 

"I'm  going  fast,  and  oh,  so  soon  must  I  leave  my 
darling  child  with  you!  Tell  me,  oh  tell  me  that  you  will 
take  her — that  you  will  protect  her  from  the  villain  who 
is  seeking  her  ruin;  who  would  drag  her  down  to  a  life 
of  shame  and  wretchedness .  Tell  me  that  you  will  love 
her,  that  you  will  honor  her  as  a  sister!  Tell  me;  it  is 
the  prayer  of  a  dying  father!  May  God  help  you,  my 
children!" 

"The  white-haired  head  of  the  dying  father  drooped 
lower  and  lower  upon  the  throbbing  bosom,  the  sad  eyes 
closed,  and,  in  a  moment,  like  a  child  in  a  mother's 
arms,  he  rested  in  peace. 

"Zell,"  said  Charley,  gently  removing  the  father's 
head  from  her  bosom  and  laying  him  down,  "your  father 
is  dead.  Zell,"  he  continued,  "the  prayer  of  your  dying 
father  shall  be  answered,  so  far  as  I  am  able.  And  here, 
over  his  dead  body  and  before  God,  do  I  vow  to  avenge 
his  death,  to  love  and  protect  his  child,  God  help  me!" 

With  blanched  cheek,  white  and  compressed  lips,  Zell 
arose  and  stretching  out  her  hand,  so  small,  white  and 
all  stained  with  the  life-blood  of  her  father — the  blood, 
\vhich  she  so  vainly  tried  to  stop  by  pressing  her  hand 
upon  his  wounded  side — tc  the  detective,  and,  over  her 
dead  father,  she  said — 

"Oh  sir!  you  are  so  kind,  so  generous — God  grant 
that  I  may  prove  worthy  of  so  noble  a  friend!  Take  me, 
poor,  wretched  girl  that  I  am,  and  I  will  love  and  obey 
you  as  your  own  child!" 


138  A  SURPRISC. 

Thus  standing — hands  clasped  in  hands,  over  the 
dead  body  of  her  father — as  they  uttered  these  words, 
they  heard  the  sound  of  approaching  footsteps,  followed 
by  a  shout  of  triumph  from  the  two  assassins,  who,  fol 
lowed  by  the  six  Indians,  whom  they  had  hired  to  aid 
them  in  their  fiendish  work,  appeared  upon  the  scene. 


CAPTIVITY. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

CAPTIVITY. 

In  a  moment  the  detective  was  overpowered,  and  with 
hands  bound  behind  him,  he  was  led  away  by  the  In 
dians,  followed  by  Kingsbury,  leading  his  captive,  Zell. 

For  two  days,  they  tramped  through  the  forests  and 
mountains  and,  at  last,  arrived  at  the  Indian  village, 
where  the  half-breed  and  his  savage  companions  lived. 
It  was  a  village  of  some  fifty  or  more  inhabitants. 
Miserable,  degraded  creatures,  who  lived  by  making 
thieving  depredations  npon  the  white  settlers  of  the  sur 
rounding  country.  A  fit  place  for  the  committing  of  a 
dark  and  shameless  crime. 

The  detective  was  dragged  through  the  miserable  vil 
lage,  followed  by  a  crowd  of  dirty  urchins  and  amid  the 
shouts  and  jeers  of  hideous  squaws,  who  had  been  told 
that  the  prisoner  was  a  detective  and  had  come  to  arrest 
the  young  men  for  stealing  horses. 

Grand  were  the  preparations  and  high  the  drunken 
carnival  of  that  evening;  for,  on  the  morrow,  at  sunrise, 
the  captive  detective  was  to  be  burned  at  the  stake. 
Kingsbury  and  Barnes  had  declared  that  it  would  not  be 
safe  for  them  to  keep  him  any  longer  and  urged  the 
execution. 

Everything  was  ready,  and  the  detective,  bound  hand 
and  foot,  was  left  tied  to  a  tree  for  the  night. 

As  he  stood  thus,  musing  upon  his  almost  hopeless 
condition  and  upon  the  awful  fate  that  awaited  the  help 
less  girl,  the  rustle  of  a  light  footstep  sounded  close  and 
a  low,  sweet  voice  whispered  in  his  ear — 

(139) 


140  THE  VILLAIN  SHOWS  HIS  HAND. 

"Ah,  the  pale  face  dog  shall  die,  and  he  ought!  My 
people  wronged  him  not;  he  had  no  business  to  come 
here!" 

"Oh!"  exclaimed  Charley,  as  he  beheld  the  graceful 
form  of  a  young  Indian  maiden,  who  looked  upon  him 
as  an  enemy  who  deserved  his  fate.  "And  pray,  m 
pretty  little  maid,  who  are  you?" 

"The  fawn,"  she  replied. 

"Have  you  seen  the  white  girl?"  asked  Charley 
anxiously. 

"The  White  Lily?  no  I  have  not.  I  will  go  and  see 
her.  They  said  that  you  killed  her  father  and  were 
carrying  her  away  to  be  your  slave.  Oh,  what  a  wicked 
man!" 

"But  they  lied  to  you,  little  Fawn;  I  never  did  it! 
They  have  lied  to  your  people!  Go  and  ask  ihe  white 
girl,  she  will  tell  you. " 

"Ah,  I  will  go  to  her,"  and  in  a  moment  she  was 
gone. 

As  Zell  was  brought  to  the  village,  she  was  taken  to  a 
hut  and  placed  in  care  of  an  old  squaw,  who  was  told  to 
guard  her  closely  and  allow  no  one  to  see  her. 

Here,  guarded  by  the  old  hag,  she  was  left  till  after 
the  council  which  was  held  to  try  the  prisoner.  After 
the  council  had  found  the  prisoner  guilty  and  had  con 
demned  him  to  be  burned  at  sunrise  on  the  following 
morning,  Kingsbury  went  to  the  hut.  Entering,  he  ap 
proached  the  horrified  girl  and  said — 

"Zell,  there's  no  use  of  tears,  of  prayers,  or  anything 
of  the  kind.  This  night,  you  shall  be  my  wife.  The 
wedding  ceremony,  according  to  the  custom  of  this  vil 
lage,  has  already  been  performed.  Nothing  is  left,  but 


THE  FAWN'S  VISIT.  141 

for  me  to  claim  my  bride,  and  I  swear  by  the  God  whom 
you  believe  and  trust  in,  that,  unless  you  consent  and 
yield  yourself  to  me  this  night,  your  friend  shall  die  at 
sunrise  in  the  morning.  I  have  offered  you  all  that 
anyone  can  offer:  I  have  offered  you  wealth,  position, 
love,  in  fact  everything  that  heart  could  wish,  but  you 
have  spurned  me.  Now,  you  are  in  my  power,  and  this 
night  you  shall  be  my  bride .  As  for  myself,  there's 
nothing  to  be  said;  your  own  conscience  is  not  clear; 
for  a  word  from  me  would  send  you  to  prison  for  at 
least  twenty  years  or  more.  Ah,  you  may  well  turn 
pale  and  tremble  at  the  thought!  Choose  then,  shall 
your  friend  go  free?  will  you  consent  to  be  my  wife  and 
let  your  friend  live,  or  will  you  refuse  and  thus  condemn 
your  friend  to  die?  Choose!  for  in  an  hour  I  will  return 
and  claim  my  bride." 

A  few  minutes  after  he  had  left  the  hut,  the  Fawn 
entered,  and  going  up  to  the  weeping  girl,  she  said  in 
her  soft,  sweet  voice — 

"Ah,   the  White  Lily  is  sad!" 

"Yes,"  said  Zell;  and  in  a  few  minutes  she  had  told 
the  Fawn  the  story  of  her  captivity. 

"The  treacherous  dog!"  cried  the  Fawn;  and  her 
black  eyes  blazed  with  indignation.  "He  has  lied  to 
my  people!  The  White  Lilies  friend  shall  not  die!"  And 
in  a  moment  more,  the  Fawn  had  glided  as  swiftly  and 
silently  away,  as  she  had  entered. 

•  It  was  midnight,  dark  and  gloomy,  and  the  detective 
was  lying  awake  and  thinking.  He  thought  of  his  friends 
and  wondered,  if  they  would  ever  know  of  the  sad  end 
ing  of  his  summer's  vacation.  He  thought  of  the  poor 
girl,  whom  he  had  sworn  to  love  and  protect,  and  his 


1 42  CHARLEY  FREED  . 

heart  bled  for  her;  for  he  knew,  all  but  too  well,  the 
sad  fate,  a  thousand  times  worse  than  his  own,  that 
awaited  her. 

Oh,  my  God,"  he  moaned,  "must  I  remain  here  and 
allow  that  fiendish  devil  to  accomplish  his  hellish  desire! 
Oh  God,  I  can't— I  won't  allow — " 

"Sh — "  came  in  a  low  whisper  close  to  his  ear,  and  a 
knife  flashed  before  his  eyes  and,  in  a  moment,  he  was 
free. 

"Ah,"  whispered  that  same  soft,  sweet  voice,  "the 
pale-face  is  not  the  dog  I  believed  him,"  said  the  Fawn. 
"I  saw  the  White  Lily  and  she  told  me.  Go  now,"  she 
said;  "the  White  Lily  is  in  trouble."  And  in  a  moment 
she  was  gone. 

Listening  to  the  retreating  footsteps  of  the  Fawn,  the 
detective's  quick  ear  caught  the  sound  of  another  foot 
step.  Were  the  movements  of  the  Fawn  discovered  ? 
Listening,  Charley  soon  saw  that  the  midnight  prowler 
was  going  in  the  direction  of  the  hut  where  Ze\l  was 
confined.  Following  silently,  Charley  saw  the  dark 
form  pause  for  a  moment  before  the  door  of  the  hut 
to  assure  himself  that  all  was  well,  then  the  dark  form 
entered. 

"Ah,"  muttered  the  detective,  "thank  God,  I  am 
not  too  late!" 

And  crawling  swiftly  to  the  door,  he  heard  the 
pleading  voice  of  Zell.  She  was  pleading  for  his 
life. 

"To  save  his  life,  oh  God!"  she  wailed,  "I  will  be 
your  wife." 

"Good!"  cried  the  villain,   in  a  tone  of  triumph,   as 


IN    THE   NICK    OF    TIME.  143 

he  advanced  toward  the  horrified  girl  with  outstretched 
arms.  "My  bride,  my — " 

The  sentence  was  never  finished,  for  at  that  instant, 
the  door  was  burst  open  and  the  detective,  with  a 
bound  like  an  enraged  lion,  sprang  upon  the  cowering 
villain  and  dealt  him  a  blow  with  his  iron  fist,  that 
felled  him  bruised  and  bleeding  to  the  ground. 

Quick  as  lightning,  Charley  seized  the  fainting  girl 
in  his  arms  and  turned  toward  the  door. 

"Halt!"  commanded  John  Barnes,  barring  the  way. 
The  command  was  followed  by  the  ominous  click  of 
his  revolvers,  while  behind  him  was  seen  the  hideous, 
painted  faces  of  a  score  of  Indians.  "Halt!  Move  a 
hand,  and  you  are  a  dead  man!" 


CHAPTER  XX   III. 

THE    FLIGHT. 

Hardly  had  the  words  escaped  his  lips,  when  the 
detective  sprang  upon  him,  dealing  him  a  blow  that 
laid  him  stunned  and  bleeding  at  his  feet.  Seizing  the 
revolvers,  the  detective  discharged  them  into  the  faces 
of  the  Indians,  he  rushed  out  of  the  hut  and  was  gone 
before  they  had  sufficiently  recovered  to  intercept  his 
flight. 

4 'Stop  him,  stop  him!"  yelled  Jim  Kingsbury,  stagger 
ing  to  his  feet,  but  it  was  too  late. 

4 'By  thunder!"  muttered  Charley,  "as  he  dashed  away 
into  the  woods,  "I  think  that  that  dose  will  satisfy  him 
for  a  day  or  two,  at  least .  By  jinks,  now,  he  won't  feel 
like  bothering  the  girl  again  for  a  while. " 

A  little  later  the  Fawn  entered  the  hut,  an  approach 
ing  Zell,  said — 

"Ah,  the  White  Lily's  friend  has  avenged  her  insult. 
The  Fawn  will  stay  with  her  to-night,  and  she  will  be 
safe.  The  pale-face  dare  not  come  here  while  Fawn  is 
here. " 

For  two  days  Zell  had  not  even  seen  Kingsbury,  a 
thing  for  which  she  could  not  be  grateful  enough. 

"No,"  laughed  the  Fawn,  "he  is  not  in  a  very 
presentable  condition  at  present.  He  will  not  bother 
you  again,  for  some  time  at  least." 

"Do  they  know  where  my  friend  is?"  asked  Zell  of  her 
new  friend,  as  they  lay  down  together  upon  their  hard 
bed  for  the  night. 

1  'Oh  yes,  they  know,  they  don't  have  to  hunt  to  find 
(144) 


THE  FLIGHT. 


RECAPTURED.  145 

him.  He  is  only  a  little  way  off,  so,  if  you  were  to  cry 
for  help,  he  would  hear  you.  I  saw  him  yesterday,  and 
again  to-day;  but  I  am  afraid  of  him,  and  I  dare  not  go 
near  him.  Ah,  but  he  is  a  noble  brave,  though  he  is  a 
white  man,  and  so  strong.  No  two,  nor  three  of  the 
strongest  warriors  dare  fight  him.  He  will  come  for  you 
by  and  by,  for  he  loves  the  White  Lily.  Ah,  your 
cheeks  blush  crimson — you  love  him!  Tell  me,  White 
Lily,  do  the  pale-faces  love  as  we  do?" 

"I  don't  know,"  murmured  Zell.  And  for  a  longtime 
she  lay  thinking  of  her  friend.  But,  at  last,  tired  nature 
closed  her  eyes  in  sleep. 

How  long  she  had  slept,  she  knew  not,  when  she  was 
awakened  suddenly;  for  something  had  touched  her  face. 
She  tried  to  call  to  her  sleeping  friend,  but  a  heavy  hand 
was  quickly  placed  over  her  mouth  and  a  voice  whis 
pered  in  her  ear — 

4 'Zell,  it  is  Charley — come  let's  go." 

Silently,  and  without  a  murmur,  she  arose  and  fol 
lowed  him.  Out  into  the  darkness,  out  into  the  night, 
they  crept.  They  had  passed  the  outskirts  of  the  village 
and  had  almost  reached  the  forest,  whose  dark,  gloomy 
shadows  would  have  shielded  them  from  view  and  en 
abled  them  to  make  good  their  escape,  when,  unfortun 
ately  for  them,  the  Indian  maden  awoke  and  missed  her 
companion.  Fearing  that  something  had  happened  to 
the  girl,  the  Fawn  rushed  out  and  aroused  the  people. 
In  an  instant  the  Indians  and  the  two  white  men  were 
in  pursuit.  They  saw  the  fugitives,  as  they  hurried 
away  toward  the  forest,  and  gave  chase.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  Indians  overtook  them  and,  after  a  short 


146  IN  A  BAD  PREDICAMENT. 

but   desperate  struggle,   overpowered   the  dauntless  de 
tective  and  brought  them  back  to  the  village. 

The  next  morning  a  council  was  held  and,  after  a  long 
and  stormy  debate,  in  which  money  and  whiskey  were 
used  to  persuade  the  Indians  and  to  influence  them  to 
decide  against  the  captive,  again  the  detective  was  con 
demned  to  be  burned  at  the  stake  at  an  early  hour  the 
following  morning. 

It  was  a  day  of  rejoicing,  and  late  into  the  night  the 
wild  orgies  lasted. 

All  preparations  for  the  execution  had  been  made. 
The  stake  set,  the  fagots  heaped  about  it  and  the  detect 
ive,  bound  hand  and  foot,  dragged  forth  and  placed  upon 
the  pile.  To  make  him  doubly  secure,  he  was  bound  to 
the  stake  with  an  extra  rope  and  a  guard  placed  over 
him. 

Till  after  midnight  the  night  was  made  hideous  by  the 
drunken  revelries  of  these  human  fiends,  when,  becom 
ing  tired  and  stupid  from  dancing  and  drinking,  the 
crowd  gradually  dwindled  away,  till  only  the  guard, 
placed  to  watch  the  prisoner,  remained. 

An  hour  passed,  when  the  guard,  who  had  been  pac 
ing  back  and  forth  before  the  captive,  becoming  tired, 
and  feeling,  no  doubt,  that  there  was  no  possibility  of 
the  prisoner  escaping,  had  sat  down  a  few  paces  away, 
to  rest. 

Five,  ten  minutes  passed,  and  still  the  guard  sat 
quietly. 

A  light  rustling  in  the  bushes  close  by  attracted  the 
detective's  attention.  Listening  intently,  he  heard  a 
light,  stealthy  footstep  approaching,  but  whether  of 


IN  TERRIBLE  SUSPENSE.  147 

friend  or  foe,  he  could  not  tell,  as  the  moon  had  gone 
down,  leaving  all  shrouded  in  impenetrable  darkness. 

On  came  the  creeping  sound. 

Bound  hand  and  foot  and  totally  unable  to  move,  he 
lay  and  listened  to  the  stealthy  approach  with  a  feeling 
of  horror. 

Unable  to  defend  himself,  he  would  fall  an  easy 
victim  to  the  enemy,  if  such  he  be. 

* 'But  then, "  he  mused,  "why  should  I  fear?  Why 
should  a  few  short  hours'  lease  of  life  seem  so  precious 
to  one  condemned  to  die?  But  how  selfish!  Thinking 
only  of  myself,  when  poor,  little  Zell  will  suffer  a  thou 
sand  times  worse  than  I.  How  gladly  would  she  ex 
change  her  fate  for  mine!" 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  that  creeping  sound;  till,  at 
last,  it  paused  directly  at  his  side.  There  was  a  fum 
bling  among  the  fagots;  a  scratching  sound,  as  if  some 
one  was  lighting  a  match. 

*  'Great  heavens,"  thought  the  horrified  captive,  "can 
it  be  possible  that  Kingsbury,  anxious  to  be  rid  of  me, 
has  come  and  is  applying  the  match  with  his  own  hand, 
so  as  to  make  sure  of  his  victim?" 

Oh  the  horror  of  that  moment!  Already,  in  his  horri 
fied  imagination,  the  detective  could  hear  the  crackling 
flames.  For  the  first  time  in  his  varied  career,  the 
detective  gave  up  in  despair.  All  hope  had  fled. 

"Oh  my  God!"  he  moaned  aloud,  "that  I  could  live 
long  enough  to  make  one  more  attempt  to  save  poor, 
little  Zell!" 

"Charley,"  came  in  a  whisper  soft  and  low,  so  close 
to  his  cheek,  that  her  warm  breath  fanned  his  hot  cheek, 
"Charley,  it  is  I— Zell." 


148  FLEEING   ONCE    MCRE. 

"Oh,  thank  God?"  he  murmured. 

With  eager,  trembling  hand,  she  loosened  the  rope 
that  bound  his  hands,  and  then  he  was  soon  free. 

With  an  inexpressible  feeling  of  joy  he  arose  to  his 
feet,  and  clasping  the  brave,  little  woman  in  his  strong 
arms,  he  pressed  her  to  his  heart  and  whispered — 

"Zell — my  brave  little  girl!" 

"Charley!"  she  murmured. 

"Come,"  whispered  Charley;  and  he  led  her  away — 
away  into  the  darkness,  beyond  the  village  and  into  the 
dark,  gloomy  woods. 

On,  on,  they  hurried.  Two  hours  had  passed  and 
then,  just  as  the  sun  rose  above  the  hill-tops — the  hour 
of  his  execution  —  the  sound  of  men  in  pursuit  was 
heard. 

"Oh  Charley,"  cried  Zell  in  despair,  "leave  me  and 
save  yourself;  you  can't  help  me!  You  are  unarmed  and 
they  will  kill  you  this  time.  Leave  me,  Charley, 
leave — " 

"Never!"  cried  Charley.  "I  will  never  leave  you! 
By  heaven,"  he  hissed,  "you  are  mine  and  the  devils  of 
hell  can't  take  you  away  from  me!  Oh  that  I  had  my 
gun!  Come,  come,"  he  urged;  "can't  you  go  any  further, 
Zell?" 

"I  am  afraid,  not,"  she  panted.  "Oh  Charley,  leave 
me  and  save  yourself;  please  do!  for  you  can  do  me  no 
good  by  staying  with  me.  Make  your  escape,  you  can 
get  away;  then,  perhaps,  you  may  be  able  to  save 
me—" 

"Never!"  he  cried.  "I  can't  do  it — I  won't  do  it,  by 
heaven  I  won't!  Jim  Kingsbury  shall  not  have  you 
again — " 


A    DESPARATE    SITUATION.  149 

"O  look!  look!"  cried  Zell.  "There  they  are.  Quick, 
Charley,  leave — " 

With  a  wild  yell  of  defiance,  Charley  caught  the  slight, 
girlish  form  up  in  his  arms  and  bounded  away  through 
the  woods,  while  the  Indians,  urged  on  by  Kingsbury 
and  Barnes,  started  in  pursuit. 

The  fugitives  had  crossed  a  little  brook  and  were 
running  along  the  base  of  a  high  bluff,  when  Kingsbury 
and  a  half  dozen  Indians  appeared  directly  in  their 
path. 

"Now,"  cried  the  detective,  placing  his  burden  upon 
her  feet,  "we  are  in  for  it!" 

Before  them,  to  the  right  of  them  and  behind  them, 
came  the  yelling  savages.  In  front  of  them  came  Jim 
Kingsbury;  running  up  to  within  fifty  yards,  he  stopped, 
raised  his  rifle  and  took  deliberate  aim  at  the  broad 
breast  of  the  detective. 

His  finger  was  already  pressing  the  trigger,  when  Zell, 
with  a  cry  of  terror,  sprang  between  them,  shielding 
him  with  her  own  body. 

Thwarted  in  his  attempt  to  shoot  the  detective,  Kings- 
bury  uttered  a  horrible  oath,  and  again  sprang  for 
ward. 

"Let  us  try  once  more,  Zell,"  cried  Charley,  seizing 
her  hand  and  dragging  her  mercilessly  through  a  clump 
of  bushes  toward  the  bluff. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

LOST   IN   THE    CAVERN. 

With  torn  clothes,  bruised  and  bleeding  flesh,  they 
forced  their  way  through  the  thicket  and  stood  at  the 
foot  of  the  bluff.  It  was  a  last  desperate  effort  to  es 
cape. 

Directly  before  them,  in  the  face  of  the  cliff,  was  a 
dark  hole  which  appeared  to  be  an  entrance  to  a  cave. 
Without  considering  whether  it  offered  them  hope  of 
escape  or  whether  it  was  luring  them  into  a  trap,  the 
detective  raised  the  girl  in  his  strong  arms  and  darted 
forward  and  entered  the  cave,  just  as  their  pursuers 
burst  through  the  thicket  in  pursuit. 

Down  into  the  depths  of  the  dark  and  unknown  cavern 
he  hurried,  bearing  his  precious  burden,  knowing  noth 
ing  and  caring  but  little  where  he  was  going,  so  he  es 
caped  his  pursuers.  Could  he  have  known  the  suffering 
that  awaited  them  there,  he  might  have  paused  before 
going  far;  but  he  did  not  know — he  could  not  see — he 
only  knew  that  he  must  escape,  and  here  was  his  only 
hope. 

Behind  them  they  could  hear  their  pursuers,  before 
them  all  was  darkness  and  uncertainty;  but  on,  still  on, 
they  hurried,  till  at  last,  exhausted,  he  wras  compelled 
to  stop. 

All  was  still  and  so  dark  that  they  could  not  see  one 
another.  Their  pursuers  had  either  given  up  the  chase 
or  had  lost  them  in  the  darkness. 

"Zell,"  whispered  Charley,  as  he  removed  his  coat 
and  wrapped  it  about  her  shoulders,  « 'lie  down  and  try  to 
rest.  I  will  watch. " 

(ISO) 


FORCING  THE  WAY  THROUGH  THE  THICKET. 


SOME    HOURS    SLEEP.  151 

Weary  and  worn  by  her  long  flight  and  sleepless 
nights,  the  poor  girl  was  soon  asleep . 

For  an  hour  or  more  the  detective  watched;  but  hear 
ing  no  sigh  of  their  pursuers,  he  concluded,  that  they 
had  given  up  the  pursuit  and  were,  probably,  awaiting 
the  return  of  the  fugitives  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave. 

"Well,"  he  muttered,  "you  can  well  afford  to  wait, 
for  we  will  have  to  return  before  long. 

"Poor  girl!"  he  said,  as  he  sat  down  and,  raising  her 
head  from  the  damp,  cold  rocks,  rested  it  upon  his  lap, 
"that  is  a  hard  bed.  There,"  he  mused,  "that  is 
better."  And  he  gently  smoothed  back  the  damp  curls 
from  her  brow. 

For  hours  he  sat  thus,  thinking  of  the  events  of  the 
past  few  days;  so  strange,  it  almost  seemed  a  dream,  a 
romance,  such  as  he  had  read  of  in  novels.  Yet,  stranger 
than  fiction  were  the  trying  events  of  the  past  few  days. 
Thus  he  sat,  thinking  for  how  long,  he  knew  not,  for 
his  thoughts  gave  way  to  dreams . 

He  was  dreaming  of  home  and  friends,  when  he  was 
aroused  from  his  slumbers  by  a  gentle  shake,  and  a  low 
voice  whispered — 

"Charley,  I  can  hear  something;  wake  up,  it  is  com 
ing  this  way!" 

In  an  instant  he  was  awake  and  listening,  but  all  was 
still  again.  Whatever  it  was  that  the  girl  had  heard, 
had  either  gone  back  or  passed  on  without  molesting 
them. 

"I  wonder  how  long  we  have  been  here,  Zell?"  asked 
Charley.  "It  was  about  sunrise,  when  we  came  in — • 
about  five  o'clock,  I  think." 


152  AT    THEIR   WITS    END. 

1  'I  have  got  my  watch,"  replied  Zell,  "so  if  you  have 
got  a  match,  we  can  soon  tell." 

Matches  are  indispensible  to  one  upon  a  sum 
mer's  vacation  to  the  mountains,  camping  out,  and  fish 
ing,  and  hunting,  and  producing  one,  he  lighted  and 
held  it  to  the  face  of  the  little  watch.  It  was  just  ten 
minutes  past  six. 

"We  have  been  here  a  little  over  an  hour,"  said 
Zell. 

"An  hour!"  exclaimed  Charley,  "thirteen  of  them, 
Zell;  by  ginger!" 

"Impossible,  Charley!"  she  exclaimed,  "I  don't  believe 
that  we  have  been  here  so  long.  But  what  shall  we  do? 
I  am  rested  now,  and  so  thirsty!  Can't  we  find  some 
water?" 

"I  don't  know,"  he  answered,  "we  will  try.  Let's  go 
and  perhaps  we  will  be  fortunate  enough  to  find  some 
before  long." 

And  so  they  set  out,  but  to  where  or  what,  they  knew 
not. 

On,  on,  in  the  darkness,  they  picked  their  way. 
Hour  after  hour  passed,  till  the  night  had  chased  away 
the  day,  and,  again  the  day  had  dispelled  the  night;  but 
it  was  all  darkness  to  them.  Their  suffering  had  become 
almost  intolerable.  Dragging  themselves  wearily  along, 
they  strove,  but  it  seemed  to  them  in  vain,  to  escape 
their  gloomy  prison.  At  last,  completely  overcome  by 
fatigue,  they  were  compelled  to  stop. 

"Zell,"  said  Charley,  "we  are  lost;  we  will  gain 
nothing  by  wandering  aimlessly  about;  sit  down  and  rest, 
if  you  can." 


AN  UGLY  VISITOR.  153 

And  again  wrapping  his  coat  about  her,  he  sat  down 
and  resting  her  head  upon  his  lap,  he  sat  for  hours  by 
the  sleeping  girl,  vainly  striving  to  devise  some  plan  of 
escape.  Vain  indeed  were  his  plans;  for,  what  could  he 
do,  what  could  he  hope?  Evidently  something  must  be 
done  before  long,  or  they  must  certainly  perish  from 
hunger  and  thirst . 

"Zell,"  said  Charley,  as  he  could  endure  her  pitiful 
moaning  no  longer,  "wake  up!"  And  he  shook  her 
gently.  But  a  low  moan  was  her  only  answer. 

"Oh  God!"  he  moaned,  as  he  raised  the  limp  and 
almost  lifeless  form  in  his  arms,  "she  is  dying!"  Stag 
gering  on  in  the  darkness,  he  resolved  to  make  one  more 
desperate  effort  to  escape.  Oh  the  horror  of  that  hour 
of  gloom!  But  at  last,  exhausted,  he  stopped,  and  laying 
his  burden  down,  he  knelt  beside  her. 

"Charley,"  she  murmured,  "I  had  such  a  sweet 
dream — I  dreamt  that  I  was  with  father  and  he  took  me 
in  his  arms  and  carried  me  home  to  mother.  Oh,  we 
were  so  happy,  and  the  good  things  we  had  to  eat;  and 
oh!  the  cool,  sweet  water  I  drank.  But,  oh  Charley!  it 
was  all  a  dream;  and  I  am  so  thirsty,  so — so  hungry!" 

"Sh — ,  listen,"  interrupted  Charley,  "I  can  hear 
something;  it  is  coming  this  way!" 

Listening  they  could  hear  the  stealthy  approach  of 
some  animal. 

"What  is  it?  What  does  he  intend  to  do?"  were 
questions  which  crowded  through  the  minds  of  the 
fugitives,  as  they  listened  to  that  slow,  stealthy  approach. 
Nearer  and  nearer  he  came,  creeping  slowly,  cautiously 
toward  them. 


154  THE    BURNING    NOTE-BOOK. 

"Oh,  that  I  had  a  gun  or  something  to  defend  our 
selves  with!"  exclaimed  the  detective.  *  'Feeble  as  such 
a  defense  must  necessarily  be,  it  would  be  far  better 
than  to  remain,  like  two  terror-stricken  children,  unable 
to  resist." 

"Light  a  match,  Charley,"  whispered  Zell.  "Haven't 
you  got  some  paper,  or  something  that  will  burn?  Wild 
animals  are  afraid  of  fire." 

"Ah,  my  note-book!"  exclaimed  the  detective.  "But 
it  is  precious,  I  hate  to  lose  it;  but  life  is  more  pre 
cious." 

And  in  a  moment  the  precious  note-book  was  ignited. 
At  the  first  flash  of  the  flames  of  the  burning  memo 
randum  which  dispelled  the  darkness  around  them,  was 
revealed  to  their  horrified  gaze  a  sight,  which,  though 
they  might  live  a  hundred  years,  they  could  never 
forget. 

Before  them,  and  not  ten  feet  away,  with  lowered 
head  and  crouching  form,  stood  a  huge,  vicious  looking 
beast.  Crouching,  ready  for  the  fatal  spring,  his  wicked 
green  eyes  glaring  vindictively  upon  them,  he  stood  for 
one  awful  moment. 


HONOR  AMONG  THIEVES. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

TRAPPED. 

,,  After  them!"  yelled  Kingsbury,  as  the  detective,  with 
Zell  in  his  arms,  disappeared  within  the  cave.  And 
dashing  forward,  he  discharged  his  gun  at  the  fugitives. 

"Trapped,  by  George!"  shouted  John  Barnes.  "Trap 
ped,  like  a  rat  in  a  hole!  By  thunder,  we'll  have  them 
now!" 

An  hour  later,  when  they  returned  from  their  fruitless 
search,  they  were  not  so  confident  that  their  game  was 
trapped. 

"No  use  of  following  them  in  there,"  said  Kingsbury; 
"we  will  just  wait  here  till  they  come  back.  We'll 
starve  them  out .  They  can't  stand  it  very  long  without 
anything  to  eat." 

"Do  you  know  this  place,  Frenchy,  asked  John  of  the 
half-breed. 

"No,"  he  replied,   "I  never  was  here  before." 

"Is  there  any  other  place  where  they  can  get  out  of 
here?"  asked  Jim  of  one  of  the  Indians. 

"No,"  he  replied,  "no  get  out  any  place  else;  have  to 
come  back  here  soon.  Heap  big  cave.  May  be  they 
get  lost  and  no  find  the  way  back  here.  Ugh!"  he  said, 
with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulder,  "heap  bad  place;  moun 
tain  lions  live  in  there — ugh!" 

"I  am  not  so  sure  of  this  thing,  Jim,"  said  John,  after 
waiting  for  two  days;  "but  I  don't  know  as  it  matters 
much,  so  we  get  rid  of  that  devil  of  a  detective,  whether 
he  comes  back  or  not.  Just  so  he  can't  get  out  any 
other  way,  we  will  be  all  right,  so  let  them  starve  to 
death  in  there  if  they  want  to." 

(155) 


156  HONOR   AMONG   THIEVES. 

"But  that  won't  answer  my  purpose,"  said  Jim.  "We 
must  search  for  them . " 

"We  no  wait  much  longer,"  declared  the  chief  of  the 
Indians;  "we  go  to  find  'Great  Medicine-stone'.  Old 
man  hid  him  in  cabin,  we  find  him." 

"No,"  said  Jim,  "the  girl  knows  where  it  is  hid.  We 
must  catch  her  or  we  can't  find  it." 

"Whag!"  grunted  the  Indian  disdainfully,  "we  catch 
him  once,  and  she  no  tell!" 

"Let  them  go,"  said  John  Barnes,  "we  don't  need 
them.  One  of  us  can  watch  here  while  the  other  one 
goes  in  and  searches  for  them.  You  go  in  and  search 
for  them  and  I  will  stay  here  and  watch,  so  they  can't 
escape,"  said  John,  and  there  was  a  cunning,  treacher 
ous  look  in  his  evil  eyes. 

"Np,"  said  Jim,  not  daring  to  trust  his  patrner  in 
crime.  "No,  you  go  first  and  let  me  stay;  or  give  me 
the  diamond  and  let  me  go  first — just  as  you  please." 
Two  scheming,  treacherous  villains,  neither  dared  to 
trust  the  other  with  the  valuable  treasure  which  they 
had  stolen. 

"I  will  go  first,"  growled  John.  And  there  was  an 
ugly  gleam  in  his  sinister  eyes  as  he  prepared  to  go . 
"Curse  you,  Jim  Kingsbury,"  he  muttered,  "my  time 
will  come  next. "  Armed  with  torch  and  his  pockets  full 
of  leaves  to  mark  the  trail,  so  he  would  not  get  lost  in 
the  cave  and  to  avoid  searching  the  same  ground  over 
twice,  he  entered  the  cavern  to  search  for  the  lost 
fugitives,  bearing  the  precious  stone  with  him . 

"Trust  him!"  muttered  Jim,  as  John  disappeared 
down  into  the  dark  and  unknown  depths  of  the  cavern. 
"Trust  him,  not  I!" 


A    DISAPPOINTED    MURDERER.  157 

After  a  long  and  fruitless  search,  John  returned  from 
the  cave  and  reported,  that  he  had  traced  them  for  miles 
down  into  the  very  heart  of  the  mountain,  and  then  had 
lost  all  trace  of  them.  So,  then,  he  took  his  turn  at  the 
watch,  while  Jim  went  in  to  search,  taking  the  diamond 
with  him,  as  John  had  done. 

"Curse  you!"  hissed  John  Barnes,  as  Kingsbury  dis 
appeared  in  the  cave.  "By  thunder!  you  shall  never  leave 
that  cave  alive!  You  would  not  hesitate  to  take  my  life 
for  that  gem,  nor  will  I  hesitate  to  take  yours.  I  have 
murdered  one  man  for  it  now;  another  won't  make  but 
a  little  difference." 

And  uttering  these  horrible  words,  he  secreted  himself 
in  the  dark  passage  and,  revolver  in  hand,  ready  for 
instant  use,  he  awaited  the  return  of  Kingsbury. 

"Yes,  yes,"  he  muttered,  "I  will  kill  him,  and  then 
the  stone  will  be  all  my  own.  The  Indians  know  noth 
ing  of  our  having  it,  and  will  suspect  nothing.  I  will 
tell  them  that  it  was  a  mistake — that  I  thought  he  was 
the  detective." 

But  he  was  destined  to  be  disappointed  in  his  murder 
ous  plan.  For  fifteen  hours  he  waited  and  watched,  but 
Jim  did  not  come. 

"What  does  it  mean?"  muttered  Barnes.  "Curse 
him,  I  say!  Is  it  possible  that  he  has  discovered  some 
other  way  to  get  out  of  the  cave?  No,  no;  that  is  im 
possible,"  bethought,  "but  perhaps  something  has  hap 
pened  to  him." 

Calling  to  the  Indians,  who  were  camped  close  by,  he 
questioned  them  closely  in  regard  to  the  cave  and 
whether  there  was  any  other  cave  in  the  vicinity  and 
was  horrified  on  learning  that  there  was  another  cave 


158  VISITING    THE    SECOND    CAVE. 

close  by;    though  the  Indians  declared  tnat  it   was  not 
connected  with  the  one  he  was  watching. 

4 'How  in  thunder  do  you  know?"  yelled  Barnes, 
livid  with  rage  and  fear.  "Curse  you,  you  stupid  idiots, 
show  me  the  place,  quick!  O  curse  you,  Jim  Kingsbury! 
If  you  have  escaped  from  the  cave  and  have  run  away, 
I  will  follow  you  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  and  kill 
you!" 

In  a  few  minutes  they  reached  the  other  cave;  and, 
after  a  careful  examination,  he  was  satisfied  that  no  one 
had  gone  out  or  in  there.  The  entrance  was  small  and 
the  ground  sandy,  so,  that  if  any  one  had  passed  that 
way,  their  footprints  would  have  been  easily  seen. 

4 'Well,  it's  all  right,"  he  muttered,  "but  it  might  have 
been  otherwise.  No,  nothing  has  been  here  except  some 
animal. " 

"Ugh!"  grunted  the  Indian,  "heap  big  mountain  lion." 
And  he  pointed  to  the  tracks  in  the  sand. 


THE  MOUNTAIN  LION. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

SAVED. 

As  it  will  be  remembered,  we  left  Charley  and  Zell 
confronting  the  huge  brute — a  mountain  lion,  and  one 
of  the  largest  of  his  kind — waiting  for  him  to  spring 
upon  them.  Retreat  was  impossible,  resistance  was 
equally  hopeless.  In  a  moment  such  an  unequal  con 
test  must  terminate  fatally  to  the  heroic  detective;  for, 
so  weak  and  feeble  from  starvation  and  thirst,  he  could 
make  but  a  feeble  resistance  against  the  powerful  teeth 
and  claws  of  the  vicious  brute. 

In  a  moment,  and  it  seemed  to  them,  just  at  the 
instant  when  the  great  beast  was  about  to  spring  upon 
them,  an  unlocked  for  incident,  or  providence,  as  the 
case  may  be,  entirely  changed  the  aspect  of  affairs.  For 
at  that  moment  the  leaves  of  the  burning  note-book, 
which  formed  their  impromptu  torch  and  which,  in  a 
moment  more,  would  be  consumed,  again  leaving  our 
friends  in  darkness,  suddenly  parted,  causing  the  flames 
to  flare  up  brightly  for  a  few  moments.  The  huge  brute, 
as  if  seized  with  some  sudden  fear,  dropped  his  head  and 
tail  and  with  a  sullen,  surly  look  in  his  eyes,  turned  and 
slunk  slowly  and  sulkily  away. 

"Come  Zell,"  whispered  Charley,  "let's  follow  him; 
perhaps  he  will,  like  the  bear,  lead  us  to  something." 

"Oh,  if  he  would  guide  us  out  of  here,"  murmured 
Zell.  "Who  can  tell,  perhaps  God  has  sent  him  to 
lead  us  back  to  the  world  again,  to  life,  to  liberty!" 

"And,  perhaps  to  death,  or  worse,  to  captivity,"  said 
Charley;  "but  come!" 

And  he  half  carried,  half  dragged,  the  almost  helpless 

(159) 


l6o  CHARLEY    IS    DKSriCRATE. 

girl,  as  he  followed  the  retreating  footsteps  of  the  animal. 
Guided  by  the  somul  of  his  heavy  feet  upon  tho  pebbly 
floor  of  the  cave,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  following  for  a 
considerable  distance.  The  great  brute  did  not  seem  to 
quite  like  the  turn  affairs  had  taken,  but  still  he 
ambled  on. 

It  was  a  desperate  act  on  the  part  of  the  detective, 
but  is  \\as  also  a  desperate  case  which  prompted  it;  and, 
it  is  said,  that  desperate  cases  demand  desperate 
remedies — so  in  this.  It  was  their  only  hope.  Like  a 
drowning  man  grasping  at  a  straw,  they  seized  in  their 
despair,  hoping  and  praying  for  the  better. 

For  several  minutes  they  followed  him,  when,  tiring 
of  their  company,  or  becoming  alarmed  at  their  persist  - 
ance,  he  bounded  away  and  left  them. 

But  his  guidance  had  proved  their  salvation;  for,  after 
following  on  in  the  direction  which  he  had  taken,   for 
some  time,  they  came  to  a  little  stream  of  cool,   spark 
ling  water,  which  trickled  down  from  among  the  rocks 
and  crossed  their  path. 

"Oh,  how  sweet!"  murmured  Zell,  as  her  parched 
lips  kissed  tlu'  cool,  life-giving  water. 

"Hello,  by  ginger!"  exclaimed  the  detective,  as  he 
stumbled  and  fell  over  some  object  lying  upon  the 
ground.  "1>\  jinks.  Zell,"  he  said  excitedly,  after  feel- 
in-  of  the  object,  "it's  some  animal;  a  deer,  by  ginger, 
that  that  lion  has  brought  and  has  been  eating. 

Lighting  a  match,  he  found,  it  was  as  he  suspected, 
the  half  eaten  remains  of  a  large  buck,  still  warm. 

••Oh.  but  this  is  fortunate!"  exclaimed  Charley, 
••Mere,  /ell,"  he  said,  as  lie  stripped  the  tender,  juicy 
ilesh  from  the  body;  "eat  it;  it  is  good." 


A  PI  1  6  1 

She  needed  no  second  invitation,  and  not  long 

till   they   had   eaten   all  that  they  dared  at  that  time. 
Once  their  terrible  thirst  and  hunger  satisfied,   they  lay 

-oon  asleep. 

Charley  had  been  thinking  of  his  little  companion,   of 

her  hardships  and  sufferings,  and  of  the  strange  chance 

h  had  brought  :  of  the  many  queer 

haps  and  mishaps  of  his  summer's  vacation  and  wonder- 

ing,  ]  \  ould  all  end,  when  sleep  stole  over  him  and 

.to  the  land  of  dreams. 

He  dreamed  of  a  little  home  somewhere,  and  he  saw  the 

:  ,  beautiful  face  of  his  little  companion  there,  sur 

rounded  by  a  troop  of  bright-eyed  children,  who  ran  to 

meet    him    with    glad,    joyful    greetings   of  love   and 


**Oh,  what  a  happy  dream!  But  alas!  so  soon  to  end 

—  or  at  least  for  the  present  —  for,   as  he   stretched   out 

his  arms,  in  his  dream,  to  clasp  his  smiling,  happy  wife 

to  his  heart,  a  le  et  voice  whispered  in  accents  of 

and  surprise  — 

"Oh  Charley,  look,   look!    The  sun  is  shining!    Oh, 

- 

"Springing  to   his  feet,   Char  the  bright  sun 

shining  through   a  small  opening  in  the  wall  of  their 
prison.     But  that  was  not  all  he  saw;  tor  almost  at  the 
same  instant  he  saw  something  else,    not  quite  so 
calculated  to  inspire  him  with  hope.      It  was  the  form  of 
a   man,    and   in   his   outstretched  hand  was  a  revc 
pointing  directly  at  the  detective's  breast. 

Quick  as  lightning  the  detective  sprang  aside.  Almost 
simultaneously  with  his  movement,  came  a  blinding  flash 
and  a  deafening  report,  and  a  pistol  ball  grazed  the 


1 62  ZELL'S  APPEAL. 

detective's  cheek  and  flattened  itself  upon  the  opposite 
wall. 

Before  the  smoke  had  passed  away  sufficiently  for  the 
assassin  to  see  the  effect  of  his  shot,  the  detective  was 
upon  him.  Then  followed  a  struggle,  fierce  and  awful 
to  the  poor  girl  who,  praying  for  her  friend,  was 
kneeling  close  by. 

Weak  from  his  long  fasting  and  exhausted  by  the 
severe  strain  upon  his  nerves  that  he  had  endured,  he 
was  at  last  overcome  and  borne  to  the  ground. 

With  his  knees  upon  the  detective's  chest,  Kings- 
bury,  who,  searching  in  the  cave,  had  come  upon 
their  trail  and  followed  them  up,  coming  upon  them 
just  at  the  moment  when  Charley  saw  him,  grasped 
his  hunting  knife,  raised  it  aloof  and,  with  a  low, 
triumphant  oath,  he  hissed — 

"Curse  you,  you  detective  dog!  Curse  you,  I  say; 
and  die  like  a — " 

A  blinding  flash,  almost  in  his  face,  followed  by  the 
sharp  report  of  a  pistol,  cut  his  sentence  short,  while 
the  knife  dropped  from  his  fingers  and  his  arm,  broken 
near  the  wrist,  dropped  by  his  side.  With  a  terrible 
oath  he  sprang  to  his  feet  and  attempted  to  escape; 
but  in  an  instant  the  detective  was  upon  him  and  delt 
him  a  blow  which  sent  him  reeling  against  the  wall 
where  he  sunk  in  a  heap  upon  the  ground. 

'  'Curse  you,  Jim  Kingsbury,"  cried  Charley,  taking 
the  smoking  revolver  from  Zell's  hand,  "you  have  just 
one  minute  to  live!  say  your  prayers." 

And  he  pressed  the  cold  muzzle  of  the  pistol  against 
the  temple  of  the  shivering,  cringing  wretch. 


CONTINUING   THE    FLIGHT.  163 

4 'Oh  Charley,"  cried  Zell,  "please  don't  shoot  him! 
Oh,  I  can't  bear  to  see  you  kill  him!"  pleaded  the  tender 
hearted  girl. 

"Just  as  you  say,  Zell,"  said  Charley,  placing  the 
pistol  in  his  pocket. 

"Thank  you,  Charley,"  she  said,  with  a  grateful  look 
from  her  dark,  blue  eyes. 

"Come,"  he  said,  drawing  her  arm  through  his  and 
leading  her  out  into  the  bright,  warm  sunshine.  The 
warm,  balmy  air  gave  them  new  life,  new  hope,  as  they 
fled  away  into  the  forest . 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

MEANTIME. 

After  satisfying  himself  that  no  one  had  gone  out  of 
the  cave,  Barnes  went  back  to  his  old  post  and  watched 
impatiently  for  another  hour. 

4 'Curse  the  luck  anyway,"  he  muttered;  "why  don't 
that  infernal  rascal  come  back?  What  in  — can  be  keep 
ing  him  so  long  ? 

"Here,  Frenchy!  Go  down,  into  the  cave  and  see  if 
you  can  find  him;  and  two  of  you  fellows  go  and  watch 
the  other  cave.  Ah,  what  was  that?"  he  asked.  "It 
sounded  like  a  pistol  shot!  Are  there  any  of  the  Indians 
out  hunting?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Strong  Bear,  a  young  chief,  some  are 
out  hunting. " 

"Well,  go  and  set  some  one  to  watch  at  the  other 
cave.  Now  Frenchy,  if  you  are  ready,"  said  Barnes, 
"go  in  and  see  if  you  can  find  Jim.  Take  the  first  pas 
sage  to  the  right,  that  was  the  one  that  Jim  was  to 
take." 

"All  right,"  said  the  hah-breed  and  disappeared  with 
in  the  cave .  Hardly  was  he  out  of  sight,  when  Barnes, 
hearing  the  report  of  another  pistol  shot,  called — 

"Ho!  there's  that  shooting  again.  Here  Frenchy, 
ho!"  he  shouted  down  into  the  cave,  "come  back 
here!" 

In  a  moment  or  two  the  half-breed  appeared  at  the 
mouth  of  the  cave. 

"What  is  it?  he  enquired;    "what  you  want  now?" 

"Go    down    to    the    camp  and  stop  those  crazy  fools 


THE  INFURIATED  VILLAINS 


THE    INFURIATED    VILLAINS.  165 

from  shooting  any  more.  What  in  thunder  do  they 
mean  anyway?"  he  fumed. 

In  a  few  minutes  Frenchy  returned  in  haste,  exclaim 
ing  excitedly — 

''Nobody  shoot  down  there;  they  think  'twas  me!" 

' 'Thunder  and  blitzen!"  yelled  Barnes  excitedly. 
"What  does  it  mean?  Has  Mr.  Strong  Bear  gone  over 
to  the  other  cave?"  he  asked. 

"No,  he  just  go,"  replied  Frenchy. 

"Just  go!  thunder — ,"  and  he  ripped  out  a  string  of 
oaths,  blue  and  singeing,  "what  does  the  lazy  hound 
mean?  Curse  him,  I  say;  I'll —  but  here  he  comes. 

"Ho  there,  speak!  what's  up?"  cried  the  infuriated 
Barnes,  as  the  Indian  came  running  up. 

"Squaw-girl  and  brave  gone!"  cried  the  Indian. 
•'White  brother  Jim  shoot  in  him  arm;  heap  bad  hurt, 
come!"  he  said,  and  darted  swiftly  back  toward  the 
cave. 

Raging  and  cursing  in  his  fury,  Barnes  followed  the 
Indian  back  to  the  cave. 

There,  upon  the  floor  of  the  cavern,  groaning  and 
cursing  in  his  fury  and  pain,  lay  Kingsbury,  where  he 
had  fallen.  One  bone  of  his  forearm  was  broken  and 
the  pain  was  so  intense  as  to  nearly  drive  him  frantic. 

"What  in  thunder  does  this  mean?"  fairly  howled 
the  exasperated  Barnes,  as  he  entered  the  cave  and  ad 
vanced  to  where  Kingsbury  was  laying. 

"Mean!"  hissed  the  villain,  livid  with  pain  and  rage. 
"Mean!  By  the  eternal,  man,  what  can  it  mean!  It 
means  that  I  am  used  up  and  they  have  escaped.  After 


1 66  THE    SEARCH    FOR    THE    DIAMOND. 

them,  after  them,  quick!"  he  shouted,  "they  are  not  far 
yet!  Oh,«  dast  the  blundering  luck!" 

"But  the  diamond,"  said  Barnes,  "where  is  the  stone? 
Is  it  safe?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Kingsbury,  feeling  for  the  stone;  I — 
t — "  he  stammered,  feeling  in  first  one  pocket  and  then 
another  without  finding  it. 

"Speak,"  cried  Barnes,  "curse  you,  Jim  Kingsbury, 
curse  you,  I  say;  have  you  lost  that  stone?  Don't  you 
try  to  steal  it,  or,  by  the  eternal,  I  will  kill  you  in  a 
minute!  Oh  what  a  fool  I  was  to  trust  it  to  you!" 

"I  must  have  dropped  it  in  the  fight,"  said  Kingsbury; 
"I  had  it  just  a  few  minutes  before.  Look  about  the 
cave  and  see  if  you  can't  find  it.  I  know  that  the  de 
tective  could  not  have  got  it. " 

But  search  as  they  would,  the  precious  treasure,  that 
had  been  baptized  in  the  life-blood  of  many  human 
beings,  was  not  to  be  found. 

"I  must  have  dropped  it  somewhere  about  here,  for  I 
had  it  when  I  came  up  to  that  entrance  there.  It  is 
somewhere  between  here  and  there,"  declared  Kings- 
bury. 

"Oh,  they  have  got  it  fast  enough,"  cried  Barnes. 
"If  you  dropped  it,  that  girl  must  have  seen  it  and 
picked  it  up  before  she  left  the  cave.  Curse  the  luck, 
anyway!"  he  groaned,  as  he  turned  from  the  cave  and 
followed  the  trail  of  the  fugitives. 

Making  his  way  along  as  fast  as  he  could,  aided  by  the 
Indians,  after  he  had  had  his  wounded  arm  attended  to, 
Kingsbury  followed  upon  the  trail  and  soon  overtook 
those  who  had  gone  on  before.  The  trail  was  dim  and 


BARNES    IN    DOUBT.  l6/ 

in  some  places  could  not  be  found  at  all,  making  it  very 
slow  work  to  follow  the  fugitives.  But  the  eagle-eyed 
savages,  like  a  pack  of  hounds,  followed  on.  All  day 
they  followed,  slowly  but  surely  gaining  upon  the 
fugitives. 

At  evening  they  stopped  to  rest  and  to  eat  their  scanty 
supper.  Here  Kingsbury  had  his  wounded  arm  attended 
to  again.  Though  it  pained  him  considerably,  he 
managed  to  bear  up  under  it;  and  by  the  aid  of  a  little 
stimulant,  and  the  help  of  a  couple  of  the  Indians,  to 
keep  up  with  the  rest . 

*  'Confound  it!"  mused  Barnes,  "I  don't  know  whether 
to  believe  him  or  not  about  that  fight  and  losing  the 
stone!  If  that  detective  done  him  up  as  he  says  he  did, 
why  the  devil  didn't  he  finish  him  while  he  was  at  it? 
But  I  will  see — I  will  watch  him.  If  he  has  lied  about 
it,  he  has  hid  the  stone  and  I  will  have  to  watch 
him  to  find  it.  Hang  the  luck,  I  ought  to  have  kept 
it  when  I  had  it!  What's  the  use  of  fooling  with  that 
girl?  I  won't  do  it  anymore;  if  Jim  wants  her,  he  can 
get  her;  I  won't  help  him.  Oh,  if  I  had  only  done  as 
I  ought,  I  might  have  been  away  from  here  and  had 
the  stone  too.  Curse  it!  that's  what  one  gets  for  being 
ticklish  about  principle.  I  will  take  no  such  chances 
again,  blame  me  if  I  do!  Ah,  here  comes  Jim  now. 
Well,"  he  inquired,  as  Jim  came  up  to  where  he  was 
sitting,  "how  do  you  feel  by  this  time?" 

'  'I  feel  as  though  I  would  like  to  get  a  shot  at  that 
fool  detective!"  replied  Jim  angrily.  "Nothing  would 
suit  me  better  just  now." 

"How  did  it  happen  that  he  shot  you,  anyhow?"  de 
manded  Barnes,  who  was  determined  to  have  an  ex- 


1 68  THE   FUGITIVES    DISCOVERED. 

planation  of  the  matter,  for  he  did  not  believe  the  story. 
"You  say  that  you  had  him  down  and  was  about  to 
knife  him.  I'll  tell  you  what's  the  matter,  Jim,  I  believe 
it's  a  little  mixed  about  that  shooting  story  anyway, 
blame  me,  if  I  don't  now!" 

*  'I  wish  to  heaven  it  had  been  you  instead  of  me,  then 
perhaps  you  would  know  all  you  want  to  about  it! "cried 
Jim  in  a  rage. 

"Yes,  I  would,  no  doubt,  know  all  about  where  that 
diamond  is.  I  don't  believe  that  you  lost  it  at  all!  But 
I  want  to  tell  you,  Jim  Kingsbury,  you  don't  want  to  try 
any  of  your  tricks  on  this  child.  I  know  that  the  de 
tective  did  not  shoot  you.  He  would  never  have  gone 
off  and  left  you  while  there  was  a  spark  of  life  in  your 
body.  I  can't  understand,  how  you  could  lose  that 
diamond!" 

"Neither  can  I;  but  it  is  very  evident,  to  me  at  least, 
that  I  did  lose  it.  As  for  the  shooting,  it  is  sufficient 
for  me  to  know  that  I  was  shot.  I  dropped  my  pistol 
and,  either  the  detective  or  the  girl,  picked  it  up  and 
shot  me.  I  couldn't  tell  which  one  did  it.  But  I  know 
that  the  girl  persuaded  him  not  to  blow  my  brains  out, 
for  he  meant  to  do  it." 

"She  was  a  blamed  fool!  I  say  that  much  for  her. 
Probably  she  picked  up  the  'stone'  too." 

"Ah,  here  comes  the  scouts,  let's  see  what  news  they 
bring,"  said  Jim. 

"Well,  what  is  it?"  inquired  Barnes,  as  the  half-breed 
and  two  others  came  in  from  a  scout.  "Have  you  seen 
anything  of  them?" 

4  'Yes, "  replied  the  half-breed;  '  'he's  just  over  there  on 
the  ridge,  about  two  miles. " 


THE   DIAMOND   ONCE    MORE.  169 

1  'Let's  after  them  then,  before  they  have  time  to  get 
away,"  exclaimed  Jim.  "Perhaps  in  an  hour  or  so 
they  will  be  off  again." 

"Let's  take  two  of  the  Indians  with  us,"  said  Barnes. 
* 'If  we  find  him  and  get  the  stone,  it  will  be  an  easy 
matter  for  us  to  surprise  the  two  Indians  and  lay  them 
out." 

"All  right,"  replied  Kingsbury.  "Here,  Frenchy, 
you  and  one  of  the  others  come  with  us,  and  we  will  go 
and  capture  them  and  get  the  'stone',  for  I  believe  that 
the  girl  has  got  it  with  her." 

"All  right,"  said  the  half-breed,  and  he  and  the  young 
chief,  Strong  Bear,  followed  the  two  assassins  upon  their 
villainous  mission. 

In  the  course  of  an  hour,  they  had  reached  the  ridge. 
Before  them,  and  not  a  hundred  yards  away,  stood  the 
detective  and  Zell. 

Pausing  for  a  moment,  to  consider  how  to  proceed, 
and,  as  they  stood  watching  their  victims,  they  saw,  in 
the  uplifted  hand  of  the  fair  Zell,  the  unmistakeable 
gleam  of  the  'Great  Medicine-stone'. 

•*Ah,"  muttered  Barnes,  "let  me  but  get  my  fingers 
on  that  'stone'  again  and  all  creation  can't  get  it  away 
from  me  again!" 

Slowly,  stealthily,  cautiously,  the  two  assassins  crept 
up  the  hill  toward  their  victims,  leaving  the  two  Indians 
behind.  Closer  and  closer  they  crawled,  till  at  last, 
they  paused  within  twenty  paces  of  their  unsuspecting 
victims. 

"Shoot  him,"  whispered  Kingsbury,  quivering  with 
excitement.  "Don't  give  him  a  chance  to  escape. 


170  "DON'T  MISS  HIM!" 

Ah,  see,  he  is  examining  the  'stone'.  No  doubt  he's 
gloating  over  the  prospective  wealth  it  will  bring  him. 
Steady,  steady,"  continued  Jim,  as  Barnes  raised  his 
rifle  to  a  level  with  the  broad  shoulders  of  the  detective. 
4 'For  heaven's  sake,  don't  miss  him!" 

"By  thunder!"  whispered  Barnes,  "I  can't  hold  my 
gun  steady.  Here,  let  me  rest  it  over  your  shoulder. 
Still  now." 

And  he  laid  the  rifle  over  his  companion's  shoulder 
and,  taking  deliberate  aim,  fired. 


THE  GREAT  MEDICINE  STONE. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE    GREAT    MEDICINE-STONE. 

After  leaving  the  cave,  Charley  and  his  companion 
hurried  away  as  fast  as  they  could  toward  the  settlement. 
All  day  and  till  late  into  the  night  they  toiled  slowly  on, 
stopping  only  occasionally  to  rest  and  to  pick  berries 
to  eat. 

"Here,"  said  Charley,  as  they  reached  a  high  ridge, 
from  which,  in  the  day  time,  they  could  have  seen  the 
town  of  Hardscrabble,  "here  we  will  rest  till  morning. 
Lie  down,  ^ell,"  he  said,  "and  sleep.  Here's  a  good 
bed  beside  this  log;  I  can  sit  here  and  watch." 

"No,"  said  Zell,  "I  am  not  sleepy,  I  want  to  sit  up  a 
while.  See,  Charley,  what  I  have  got,"  she  said,  and 
she  held  the  glittering  diamond — 'The  Great  Medicine- 
stone' — above  her  head,  so  that  the  moon-beams  fell 
upon  it  and  were  reflected  again  in  dazzling  light.  '  'See, 
do  you  know  what  it  is,  Charley?" 

"It  is  either  a  diamond  or  a  very  good  imitation  of 
one,"  he  answered,  taking  it  from  her  hand  and  examin 
ing  it  closely.  "Where  did  you  get  it,  Zell?" 

"My  father  bought  it  of  some  Indians  about  three  or 
four  weeks  ago,"  she  replied.  "There  is  a  long  story 
connected  with  it.  It  is  called  'The  Great  Medicine- 
stone',  and  was  found  in  the  Yukan  River  in  Alaska. 
Did  you  ever  hear  of  it?" 

"Hear  of  it!"  exclaimed  Charley,  as  he  looked  back 
to  his  adventures  of  a  few  weeks  ago  and  remembered 
again  the  sad  story  of  the  old  hermit  and  of  the  twelve 
young  men,  who  had  given  their  lives  in  trying  to  pos 
sess  it.  "My  God,  Zell,  I  could  tell  stories  of  this 

(170 


WHAT   THE    'STONE'   REVEALED. 

bloody  gem,  this  'Devil's  Eye','  that  would  freeze  your 
blood  in  your  veins!  But  I  don't  believe  the  legend  that 
the  Indians  tell  is  true." 

And  he  told  her  the  story  of  the  'Great  Medicine- 
stone',  as  related  by  the  old  hermit. 

"But  then,"  he  concluded,  "strange  things  do  happen, 
as  I  myself  have  seen;  stranger  even  than  fiction.  See," 
he  said,  "this  'stone'  has  twelve  sides  and  each  side  is 
named  from  one  of  the  twelve  months  of  the  year,"  so 
the  legend  says;  "and  in  the  liquid  depths  of  each  face 
is  written  or  is  reflected  the  destiny  of  him  who  reads  or 
looks  upon  it  for  that  month.  "See,"  he  laughed,  as  he 
held  the  'stone  aloof;  "let  us  read  our  fate." 

And  laughingly  he  gazed  upon  the  wonder-stone. 

"My  God!"  he  cried,  as  he  looked  upon  the  vision 
that  was  revealed  in  the  firy,  liquid  depths  of  the  gem 
—a  vision  which  sent  a  chill  of  horror  and  dismay  to 
his  brave  heart;  for,  revealed  there,  were  the  figures  of 
two  men,  standing  directly  behind  him,  whom  he  re 
cognized  to  be  Kingsbury  and  Barnes.  John  Barnes 
had  just  rested  his  rifle  over  the  shoulder  of  his  com 
panion  and  was  taking  a  steady  and  deliberate  aim  at 
him.  Quick  as  thought  the  detective  saw  and  under 
stood  the  revelation;  for,  like  a  polished  mirror,  the 
'stone'  reflected  the  scene  and  objects  behind  him. 
He  had  seen  the  movement  in  raising  the  rifle  and 
could  even  see  the  triumphant  faces  of  the  assassins. 
The  bright,  full  moon  shone  full  in  the  faces  of  the 
irren,  so  that  he  knew  there  could  be  no  mistake. 

Quick  as  lightning  the  detective  dropped  to  the 
ground,  and  at  that  very  instant  rang  out  loud  and  clear 
upon  the  still  night  air  the  sharp  report  of  the  rifle. 


BUT    HE    MISSED    HIM.  1/3 

With  a  wild,  dispairing  cry  of  horror  and  dismay,  Zell 
sprang  forward  and  knelt  beside  the  fallen  detective. 

"Oh  God,"  she  wailed,  "he  is  killed,  he  is  killed! 
Charley,  Charley,"  she  called,  "speak  to  me!" 

"Ha,  ha,"  cried  Barnes,  as  he  and  Jim  rushed  upon 
the  scene,  "he  will  never  speak  again." 

And  he  stooped  to  pick  up  the  precious  'stone'.  At 
the  same  time  Kingsbury  seized  Zell's  hand  and  in  a 
tone  of  gloating  triumph  cried — 

"Ah  ha,  my  little  beauty,  I  have  got  you  again!  Yes, 
yes,  my  darl — " 

The  words  of  insult  which  were  crowding  for  utter 
ance  were  cut  short;  for  at  that  instant  the  gloating  of 
the  triumphant  villains  over  their  fallen  enemy  was 
changed  into  a  scene  of  a  very  different  nature. 

The  dead  detective  had  in  an  instant,  and  very  unex 
pectedly,  come  to  life,  and  before  the  villains  could  re 
alize  what  had  happened,  had  sprung  upon  Kingsbury 
and  dealt  him  a  blow,  which  lay  him  bruised  and  bleed 
ing  at  the  feet  of  the  girl,  whom  he  had  sought  to 
destroy. 

Turning  then  upon  Barnes,  the  two  men  stood,  for  a 
moment,  glaring  upon  each  other.  For  an  instant  only 
they  paused,  then,  like  two  wild  and  enraged  beasts, 
they  sprang  upon  each  other  and  grappled  in  that  fierce, 
desperate  struggle  which  followed. 

Swaying  from  side  to  side,  reeling  and  staggering, 
they  fought. 

How  the  battle  would  have  ended  had  they  been  left 
to  fight  it  out  unmolested,  is  hard  to  say.  But  they 
were  not  permitted  to  finish  unmolested;  for,  Kingsbury, 
recovering  from  the  stunning  blow  which  he  had  re- 


1/4  ZELL   TO   THE    RESCUE. 

ceived,  had  sufficiently  recovered  to  realize  the  situation. 
Glad  enough,  indeed,  would  he  have  been  to  have  left 
Barnes  to  fight  it  out  alone,  but  he  dared  not;  for  his 
own  life  as  well  depended  upon  the  issue  of  that 
battle . 

Faint,  dizzy,  and  so  weak  that  he  could  not  stand,  he 
dragged  himself  upon  his  knees,  shouting  the  while  for 
the  two  Indians,  whom  they  had  left  behind  for  fear 
that  they  might  see  the  precious  'stone';  he  drew  his  re 
volver,  and  watched  for  an  opportunity  to  shoot  the 
detective. 

Scarcely  ten  feet  away  the  two  men  fought.  Now  the 
detective  was  gaining  the  upper  hand  and,  with  crushing 
force,  was  bearing  his  opponent  to  the  ground. 

Kingsbury  saw  it,  and  with  an  awful  fear  at  his  heart, 
he  raised  his  revolver  and  took  aim .  But  here  again 
an  unexpected  interference  took  place.  For  Zell,  kneel 
ing  but  a  few  feet  away,  praying  for  her  friend,  saw  and 
understood  the  act.  Quick  as  lightning,  like  an  enraged 
lioness  fighting  for  her  mate,  she  sprang  upon  the  un 
suspecting  wretch  and,  wrenching  the  revolver  from  his 
hand,  dealt  him  a  crushing  blow  upon  his  nose,  which 
felled  him  bleeding  and  stunned  at  her  feet. 

"Ugh!"  grunted  the  young  Indian  chief,  who  had 
arrived  upon  the  scene.  "Squaw-girl  heap  fight!" 

"Help,  help!"  yelled  Barnes,  as  the  detective  bore 
him  to  the  ground. 

The  half-breed  rushed  to  his  assistance,  andjtogether, 
the  two  soon  overpowered  the  already  nearly  exhausted 
detective  and,  in  a  moment,  had  him  bound  and  help 
less. 


CAPTIVES    ONCE    MORE.  1/5 

' 'Curse  you!"  cried  John  Barnes,  "ft  powder  and 
lead  will  kill  you,  you  shall  die!" 

And  drawing  his  revolver,  he  thrust  its  cold  muzzle 
against  the  detective's  temple  and  fired.  But  fate  was 
against  the  villains;  for,  Zell  had  seen  the  act  of  the 
treacherous  fiend,  and  striking  at  the  hand  which  held 
the  pistol,  turned  its  muzzle  from  the  detective's  fore 
head  to  the  heart  of  the  villainous  half-breed.  Without 
a  murmur,  he  fell  lifeless  at  her  feet. 

With  a  fearful  oath,  Barnes  raised  the  revolver  again; 
but  here  he  was  stopped  again.  For  the  young  Indian 
sprang  forward  and  seized  the  revolver  and,  wrenching 
it  from  the  murderer's  hand,  said  in  a  low,  stern 
tone — 

"No  kill,  take  him  back  to  village  with  us!" 

"Stand  back,  red  man!"  hissed  Barnes  threatingly. 
"Don't  interfere  with  me!" 

"Ugh!  me  no  afraid!"  he  said,  and  his  hand  rested 
upon  the  hilt  of  his  hunting  knife.  "Take  him  back  to 
village." 

"All  right!"  said  Barnes;  and  there  was  a  dangerous 
light  in  his  wicked  eyes.  "We  will  take  him  back." 

In  the  course  of  an  hour,  the  two  prisoners,  with 
hands  tied  behind  them,  and  tied  together,  for  Zell  was 
no  longer  considered  harmless,  were  marched  away. 

But  they  did  not  return  to  the  Indian  camp.  The 
village  was  nearly  in  an  opposite  direction,  so  they 
started  directly  for  the  village.  For  two  hours  they 
marched  on,  and  then  went  into  camp. 

On  the  march,  Charley  had  found  time  to  talk  to  his 
companion;  and,  to  cheer  her  up  and  to  pass  away  time, 


176  "WHO    IS    THIS    LADY    FRIEND?" 

he  told  her  of  how  he  first  found  the  clue  which  led  him 
to  their  retreat. 

''And  who  is  this  lady  friend  of  yours?"  asked  Zell. 

"Oh,"  said  Charley,  "I  didn't  think  you  would  be 
much  interested  in  her,  but  I  thought  you  would  be  in 
terested  in  him." 

"Indeed  I  am  interested  in  him, "she  answered,  "but, 
perhaps  not  as  you  think." 

"He  gave  me  the  best  of  reasons  for  supposing  as  I 
do,"  said  Charley. 

"I  don't  understand  what  those  reasons  can  be,"  re 
plied  Zell. 

"Neither  do  I,  unless  love  can  be  taken  as  a  reason." 

"He  certainly  had  no  right  to  talk  of  love  between  us. 
He  was  a  friend,  no  more;  and  as  a  friend,  I  am  inter 
ested  in  his  welfare.  But  your  lady  friend,  I  want  to 
hear  of  her;  what  is  her  name?  Of  course  it's  no  one  I 
know. " 

'  'Yes  it  is. " 

"Oh  Charley!"  cried  Zell,   "please  tell  me  who  it  is!" 

"It  is  your  cousin,  Kitty  Barnes." 

"Cousin  Kitty!  For  heaven's  sake,  has  she  come  here?" 
cried  Zell. 

"She  came  with  John." 

"Where  is  she  staying?" 

"She  is  with  Frank.  I  left  her  there  to  take  care  of 
him,"  said  Charley. 

"Ah!  well,  Frank  and  Kitty  will  get  along  all  right. 
She  will  just  suit  him  and,  I  think,  that  he  will  suit  her 
pretty  well,  too.  That  is  if  she — she — " 

"Well,  'if  she'  what?"  interrupted  Charley. 


"WHY    DID    YOU    NOT    KILL    HIM?"  1 77 

But  Zell  did  not  hear,  or  at  least,  appeared  not  to. 

^Zell,"  said  Charley,  after  a  short  pause,  "do  you 
know  that  that  man  there,"  pointing  to  Barnes,  "is 
Kitty's  brother?" 

"No,  no!  O  don't  tell  me  that!"  she  exlaimed,  looking 
up  into  Charley's  face  with  an  incredulous  look  in  her 
beautiful  blue  eyes. 

"But  he  is,  Zell,  and  he  helped  to  kill  your  father — 
his  uncle;  and  all  for  that  cursed  diamond.  Oh,  how  I 
wish  that  you  had  killed  Jim  that  day  in  the  cave,  or 
had  let  me  kill  him.  It  would  have  saved  all  this  trouble, 
Zell." 

"Oh,  I  could  not  do  it,  Charley;  he  used  to  be  a 
friend  of  mine.  I  could  not  bear  to  see  you  kill  him," 
she  said;  and  there  was  a  peculiar  emphasis  upon  the 
"you". 

"You  came  pretty  near  killing  him  last  night,  or  to 
night,  rather.  By  jingoes,  but  he's  got  a  bad  looking 
face  on  him  now,  sure!" 

"Oh,  I  could  have  killed  him  then!" 

"Zell,"  said  Charley,  as  they  went  into  camp,  "there's 
something  up.  Jim  and  John  are  plotting  mischief;  I 
believe  that  they  mean  to  kill  that  Indian,  so  they  will 
have  everything  to  themselves. " 

"They  are  afraid  of  him.  Do  you  know,  Charley,  he 
is  the  Fawn's  lover?" 

"Ah,  then  that  is  why  he  interfered  and  prevented 
Barnes  from  killing  me;  he  did  it  for  your  sake,  Zell. 
They  mean  to  lay  him  out,  but  I  don't  know  how  we 
can  help  him." 

"We  must  manage  to  warn  him,"  said  Zell.  "If  I 
can  get  to  speak  to  him. " 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

FREE. 

"Wait  and  watch.      Just  a  word  will  be  sufficient." 

A  half  hour  after  going  into  camp,  the  Indian  came 
along  where  Charley  and  Zell  sat.  They  were  bound  to 
a  tree  in  a  position  so  that  Zell  could  lie  down.  For  a 
moment  the  Indian  stood  silently,  looking  upon  the  fair 
young  girl  with  a  dark  frown  upon  his  brow,  but  he  said 
nothing.  Here  was  a  chance,  and  Zell  whispered  but  a 
word  or  two  of  warning.  He  uttered  not  a  word  in  re 
sponse,  but  in  his  dark  eye  there  blazed  a  light  of  un 
mistakable  fire  which  told  plainer  than  words  could  have 
told,  that  he  heard  and  understood.  For  a  long  time 
they  sat  and  talked;  but  at  last  Zell  lay  down  and  was 
soon  asleep  in  spite  of  her  deplorable  condition.  Mid 
night  had  long  since  passed  and  the  moon  had  gone 
down,  leaving  them  in  total  darkness.  The  detective 
was  awake  and  thinking  of  the  strange  conduct  of  the 
Indian  brave  and  wondering  what  the  result  would  be, 
for  he  knew  that  the  two  white  renegades  were  planning 
vengeance  against  him  for  interfering,  when  he  felt  the 
rope  which  bound  his  hands,  slacken,  and  a  moment 
later,  a  huge  hunting  knife  dropped  into  his  lap.  With 
an  inexpressible  feeling  of  joy  he  found  his  hands  free. 
It  was  but  the  work  of  an  instant  to  sever  the  bonds 
which  bound  his  feet  as  well  as  those  which  bound  his 
sleeping  companion. 

"Zell,  he  whispered,  after  listening  for  a  moment  to 
assure  himself  that  all  was  well,  "come,  wake  up,  we 
are  free;  let's  be  off." 

In  silence   they   crept    away.        Out    into    the    dark, 


THE  DEATH  OF  JOHN  BARNES. 


APT    TO    BE    SENTIMENTAL.  1/9 

gloomy  forest  and  to  liberty.  Oh!  what  a  feeling  of  joy 
and  thankfulness  filled  their  hearts  as  they  found  them 
selves  once  more  free. 

They  had  reached  the  margin  of  a  dark  and  dismal 
swamp  and  were  hurrying  along  its  edge,  when  they 
were  startled  by  the  report  of  a  pistol  shot,  which  came 
from  the  direction  of  the  spot  they  had  just  left. 

"What  can  it  mean,  I  wonder?"  asked  Zell,  while  her 
heart  throbbed  with  fear. 

''Perhaps  they  have  discovered  our  escape;  but  I  don't 
know  what  the  shot  means,  unless  they  have  shot  the 
Indian,"  replied  Charley.  *  'I  believe  that  they  intended 
to  kill  him.  Once  rid  of  him,  they  could  easily  dispose 
of  me;  then  Kingsbury  would  have  no  one  to  interfere 
with  his  satisfying  his  fiendish  ambition." 

"Oh  my  God!"  murmured  Zell,  as  she  thought  of  the 
fate  that  would  have  been  hers.  "Oh,  how  thankful  I 
ought  to  be  to  you  for  the  noble  friendship  you  have 
shown  me.  Oh,  I  thank  God  for  such  a  noble  friend!" 

"Tut,  tut,  Zell,"  said  Charley,  "I  am  doing  nothing 
more  than  any  young  fellow  would  do  for  such  a  pretty 
girl  as  you  are." 

'  'Oh,  I  don't  like  your  flattery,  Charley,  nor  are  your 
words  true,  for  here  are  two  young  men,  both  of  whom 
have  had  the  same  opportunity  which  you  have  had,  but 
they  have  not  done  it.  Oh  Charley,  when  I  think  of 
this,  of  the  suffering  and  danger  that  you  have  endured 
for  me — a  poor,  friendless  girl — I  can't  help  but  to  show 
my  feeling  of  gratitude!" 

"Well,  well,  girls  are  apt  to  be  sentimental  some 
times,"  he  said;  "but  come,  you  are  about  ready  to 
drop  down  from  exhaustion;  let's  stop  here  and  rest 


l8o  A    PEACEFUL   SLEEP. 

till  morning.  No  one  will  find  us  here  in  this  dismal 
swamp.  Lie  down  and  sleep." 

"Oh,  I  am  so  tired,"  she  moaned,  "I  could  almost 
wish  I  were  dead." 

"Don't  get  discouraged,  Zell;  we  will  stay  here  till 
morning.  We  will  be  safe  here  and  a  good  nap  will 
make  you  feel  like  a  new  girl.  Lie  down  and  sleep; 
I  will  watch." 

So  tired  and  worn,  poor  Zell  was  asleep  almost  as 
soon  as  her  head  touched  its  pillow  upon  the  detect 
ive's  lap. 

For  some  time  Charley  sat,  leaning  back  against  a 
tree  and  thinking.  But  soon  he,  too,  slept. 

Morning  came.  The  warm,  bright  sun  was  climbing 
slowly  above  the  mountain  peaks,  awakening  the  birds 
to  song  and  gladness;  still  the  girl  slept  on,  though  the 
detective  had  awakened. 

Oh  what  a  vision  of  loveliness!"  he  mused!  as  he 
gazed  long  and  earnestly  upon  that  slight,  graceful 
form  lying  there  with  her  golden  head  pillowed  upon  his 
knees.  "What  a  sweet,  beautiful  face!"  Long  and  wist 
fully  he  gazed  upon  the  beautiful  vision.  But  we  will 
not  commit  the  folly  of  telling  the  thoughts  which  rilled 
his  heart — thoughts  that  had  never  found  place  there 
before.  The  vision  of  that  happy  home,  those  bright- 
eyed,  laughing  children,  and,  last  but  not  least,  the 
beautiful,  girlish  wife  who  greeted  him  with  a  loving 
kiss,  which  he  had  seen  in  his  dream.  Ah,  it  was  this 
same  sweet  face  which  he  saw;  there  was  the  same  glad, 
happy  smile. 

"Oh  God!"  murmured  Charley,  "can  I  hope  for  such 
happiness?" 


A   VENGEFUL   VILLAIN.  l8l 

But  here  his  musings  were  brought  to  an  end,  for,  out 
upon  the  still  morning  air  rang  out  loud  and  distinct 
the  report  of  a  pistol  shot,  followed  by  a  cry  of  pain  and 
terror.  Again  all  was  still.  The  shot  that  had  caused 
that  cry  was  not  far  away  and  it  came  so  clear  and  dis 
tinct,  that  he  almost  thought  he  recognized  from  whose 
lips  it  came. 

With  a  start  Zell  awakened  and  looked  wildly  about 
her  as  if  expecting  every  moment  to  see  their  enemies 
rush  upon  them  from  the  deep  shadows  of  the  swamp. 

"Listen;  Zell,"  said  the  detective,  "I  can  hear  some 
one  talking."  Listening  they  could  plainly  hear  some 
one  talking. 

"Curse  you,  John  Barnes,"  came  in  the  voice  of  Jim 
Kingsbury,  "die  like  a  miserable  dog  that  you  are!  The 
'stone'  is  mine  now — all  mine;  and  I  will  yet  have  the 
girl  too!  There's  a  band  of  horse  thieves  not  far  from 
here  and  I  will  go  there;  I  can  get  all  the  help  I  want 
from  them.  Yes,  I  will  go  there;  so  fare  you  well,  my 
friend;  I  hope  that  you  may  die  easy  and  may  the  devil 
have  a  fire  ready  for  your  reception. 

"Look!"  he  cried,  holding  the  precious  gem  before  the 
dying  man's  eyes;  "Ha,  ha;  I  picked  it  up  while  you 
and  the  detective  were  fighting.  I  saw  where  he 
dropped  it  when  you  shot  at  him.  Oh,  isn't  it  a  beauty? 
It's  worth  a  clean  half  million.  Ha,  ha,  and  it's  all 
mine!" 

"I  will  go  to  the  outlaws'  camp  and  stay  there  till  I 
am  well;  then  I  will  follow  after  the  girl.  Ho,  but  I 
will  have  her  yet!  Well,  John,  I  will  have  to  leave  yow; 
sorry,  but  I  cant  help  it — can't  possibly,  my  dear  friend; 
for  I  must  reach  the  outlaws'  camp  before  that  cursed 


1 82  GONE,    TO    MEET    HIS    JUDGE. 

Indian  returns  with  help.  Curse  you  anyway  for  miss 
ing  him;  why  couldn't  you  have  made  a  better  shot? 
you  only  broke  his  arm.  He  and  his  whole  tribe  will  be 
after  us  before  long." 

"Curse  you,  Jim  Kingsbur}!"  came  in  a  feeble  voice 
from  Barnes,  as  Jim  turned  and  left  the  dying  man  alone. 
4 'Curse  you,  you  treacherous  villain,  and  may  vengeance 
overtake  you!" 

"Zell,"  said  Charley,  "John  Barnes  is  your  cousin,  as 
bad  as  he  is,  let  us  go  and  find  him." 

"O  Charley!"  cried  Zell,  "is  it  possible  that  that  man 
is  my  cousin?" 

"Yes,  Zell,"  replied  Charley,  as  he  forced  his  way 
through  the  swamp  that  hid  him  from  them. 

In  a  few  minutes  they  came  upon  him  as  he  lay  with 
his  head  resting  upon  his  hand  and  his  feet  in  the  water 
where  he  had  fallen  when  shot  down  by  his  treacherous 
companion. 

With  a  shudder  he  met  the  pitying,  forgiving  eyes  of 
Zell,  and  there  was  a  wild  look  in  his  terror-stricken 
face.  Then,  with  a  wild  shriek  of  terror  he  closed  his 
eyes,  and  in  a  moment  was  dead. 

"Come,  Zell,"  said  the  detective,  "we  can't  do  any 
thing  for  him.  Come,  let  us  go, "and  he  took  her  hand 
and  led  her  away  from  the  horrible  scene. 

For  miles  they  tramped  on  through  the  mountains, 
and  at  night,  closely  wrapping  his  coat  about  his  com 
panion  bade  her  lie  down  and  rest .  Tired  and  hungry, 
the  poor  girl  curled  herself  up  beside  a  fallen  tree  and 
was  soon  asleep.  Charley,  seating  himself  beside  her, 
sat  watching  and  thinking  for  hours.  But  at  last  he, 
too,  slept. 


HARDSCRABBLE.  183 

Long  after  midnight,  the  two  fugitives  were  aroused 
from  their  dreams  by  the  discharge  of  firearms,  followed 
by  a  wild  chorus  of  yells  and  shouts.  For  half  an  hour 
the  battle  in  the  darkness  lasted;  then  all  was  still 
again.  The  battle  had  been  won. 

"What  can  it  mean,  Charley?"  asked  Zell,  nervously. 

"I  don't  know,"  he  answered,  "but  I  am  glad  that  we 
are  not  there.  Perhaps  the  Indians  have  followed 
Kingsbury  to  the  outlaws'  camp  that  he  spoke  of  and 
have  attacked  them.  He  said  that  they  were  not  far 
away.  Well,  they  are  no  friends  of  ours  anyway,  so  we 
will  not  bother  ourselves  about  them," 

"Let's  go  away  from  here,  Charley,  I  can't  sleep  any 
more,  and  I  am  rested  now,"  said  Zell,  fearing  that  some 
of  the  Indians  or  outlaws  might  come  that  way. 

"Well,  I  guess  perhaps  that  we  had  better,"  said 
Charley.  '  "Here,  take  my  arm  and  let  me  help  you." 
Thus  they  tramped  on  through  the  woods  and  mountains 
till,  a  little  after  sunrise,  they  stood  upon  the  summit  of 
a  high  ridge  from  whence,  away  to  the  North,  they  could 
see  the  town  of  Hardscrabble. 

"O  Look,  look!"  cried  Zell,  clapping  her  hands  in  de 
light.  "O  Charley,  it  is  a  town!" 

"Yes,  "said  Charley,  "it  is  the  town  of  Hardscrabble. 
That  is  where  I  started  from  when  I  set  out  to  find  the 
old  hermit  and  his  beautiful  daughter — 

"For  shame,  Charley!"  said  Zell,  blushing  crimson  at 
his  thoughtless  words. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  Zell,  I  didn't  mean  anything," 
he  said,  "but  I  can't  take  it  back  for  it  is  the  truth.  But 
then,  of  course,  I  ought  not  to  have  said  it  all  the  same. 
If  it  was  Kitty  now,  instead  of  you,  I  could  call  her 
pretty  without  fear  of  offending." 

"O  Charley,  I  am  not  offended,  indeed  I  am  not." 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


BACK    TO    HARDSCRABBLE. 

4 'Oh,"  said  the  detective,  "I  didn't  think  you  were 
very,  very  much  offended;  but  see,  Zell,  it  is  nearly 
twenty  miles  from  here  to  the  settlement;  do  you  think 
that  you  can  walk  that  far?" 

"Yes."  replied  Zell,  bravely;  "I  can  walk  there  all 
right,  if  I  can  get  a  little  something  to  eat.  Oh,  I  am 
nearly  starved!" 

"We  will  have  some  breakfast  before  long,"  said  Char 
ley,  encouragingly. 

"But  I  don't  see  how  we  are  to  get  it, "said  Zell,  dubi 
ously. 

"I  will  show,"  said  Charley.  "See  that  little  stream 
down  there?"  and  he  pointed  to  a  small  stream  which 
ran  through  the  valley  below.  "Well,  there's  fish  in 
there  and  I  have  got  a  hook  and  line  in  my  jacket;  do  you 
see  now?" 

"Oh,  yes, "she  answered,  "I  see;  but  let's  hurry;  I  am 
anxious  to  be  eating  some  of  them." 

A  half  hour  later  they  stopped  and  kindled  a  fire  upon 
the  bank  of  the  stream  and,  while  Charley  caught  a  few 
delicious  mountain  trout,  Zell  prepared  their  breakfast 
by  roasting  the  fish,  Indian  fashion,  by  holding  them 
before  the  fire  stuck  upon  the  end  of  little  sticks.  A 
dozen  or  more  were  thus  prepared,  when  Zell  declared 
that  she  could  wait  no  longer;  so  they  sat  down  and  par 
took  of  their  hastily  prepared  meal. 

(184) 


CHARLEY  AND  ZELL  ON  THEIR  WAY  DOWN  THE  RIVER. 


APPEASING   THEIR    HUNGER.  185 

"O,  how  delicious,"  cried  the  hungry  girl. 

"They  lack  a  little  salt,  that's  all,"  declared  the  de 
tective. 

"Well,"  declared  Zell,  after  satisfying  her  hunger,  "I 
feel  better  now;  and  I  am  ready  to  march." 

"We  will  rest  awhile  first,"  said  Charley,  stretching 
himself  at  full  length  upon  the  grassy  bank.  For  some 
time  he  lay  watching  the  sweet  face  of  his  little  com 
panion  who,  sitting  but  a  little  way  off,  was  busying  her 
self  with  pinning  up  the  rips  and  tares  in  her  clothes. 

"Pretty  near  an  endless  task,  ain't  it,  Zell?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  "but  I  hate  to  be  seen  so 
ragged. " 

"Where  did  you  get  your  pins?" 

"Oh,"  she  laughed,  "I  got  them  off  of  that  thorn 
bush  there.". 

"Ah,  that's  something  you  have  learned  from  the  In 
dians,  I  suppose." 

"Charley,"  said  Zell,  as  she  finished  her  task,  "do 
you  think  that  there's  any  danger  of  my  being  arrested 
when  I  get  to  town?" 

"Arrested!  Thunder,  no!"  he  cried.  "No  one  will 
arrest  you  unless  I  take  a  notion  to." 

"I  didn't  know,  I  just  wanted  to  know  what  you 
thought  about  it.  Well,  I  am  ready  to  go  now." 

"All  right;  will  march  on  then.  I  don't  think  that  we 
will  have  to  walk  more  than  five  or  six  miles  before  we 
will  find  a  ranch.  We  will  follow  down  the  river,"  he 
said,  and  they  set  out  on  their  journey. 

Some  five  miles  below,  they  came  to  on  old  hunter's 
camp  und  stopped  to  rest  and  eat  the  first  meal  of  bread, 
butter,  potatoes  and  coffee,  with  a  few  other  things  that 


I  86  A   HAPPY    RE-UNION. 

they  had  sat  down  to  since  the  evening  that  they  left  the 
little  cabin  and  set  out  to  search  for  the  hermit. 

The  old  man  had  a  small  canoe  which  he  loaned  them 
and,  in  a  few  minutes  after  finishing  their  dinner,  they 
started  down  the  river  for  town. 

At  a  little  after  sunset,  they  arrived  at  Hardscrabble, 
and  a  few  minutes  later  they  arrived  at  the  hotel  where 
Frank  Smith  and  Kitty  Barnes  met  them  and  welcomed 
them  back  to  the  land  of  the  living. 

Kitty  soon  marched  her  cousin  off  to  her  own  room 
where,  of  course,  we  have  no  right  to  intrude. 

A  half  hour  after,  when  their  supper  was  announced, 
Charley  was  not  only  surprised  but  was  puzzled  at  the 
appearance  of  the  two  girls.  For,  on  entering  the 
room  where  Charley  and  Frank  were  waiting,  the  two 
cousins  looked  so  much  alike  that,  for  a  few  minutes, 
neither  Charley  nor  Frank  could  see  which  was  which. 

' 'By ginger,"  declared  Charley,  "which  is  which  any 
way?"  Ah,  I  know,  I  can  see  the  mischief  in  your  eye, 
Miss  Kitty.  This  is  Zell.  Come,  let's  go  to  supper." 

T^hree  days  after  this,  the  detective  set  out  on  his 
search  for  Kingsbury.  He  had  sworn,  as  we  have  seen, 
to  avenge  the  death  of  Zell's  father  and,  with  this  ob 
ject  in  view,  he  began  his  work. 

For  two  weeks  he  searched  and  finally  found  a  clew 
to  the  whereabouts  of  the  murderer. 

"I  don't  know  for  sure,  "he  said,  one  evening  as  he  was 
talking  with  Zell  about  his  work;  "I  can't  say  yet 
whether  I  have  found  him  or  not,  but  I  believe  that  I 
have.  I  think  that  he  is  down  at  deep  canyon  mines' 
some  forty  miles  northwest  of  here.  I  am  going  down 
there  again  to-morrow . " 


ONCE  MORE  ON  THE  TRAIL.  l8/ 

"I  wish  that  I  could  help  you,  Charley,"  said  Zell; 
"It's  too  bad  for  you  to  go  alone." 

"Oh,  I  don't  mind,  so  that  I  know  that  you  are  safe," 
replied  Charley. 

"Oh,  I  wish  I  could  only  know  that  you  were  safe 
too!"  said  the  blushing  girl.  "Oh,  here  comes  Kitty!" 

"Oh,  you  rogue!"  cried  Kitty,  "what  means  these 
blushes?"  But  Zell  was  gone. 


CHAHTER  XXXI. 


ALBERT    DUMARS. 

One  evening  about  three  weeks  after  the  arrival  of 
Charley  and  Zell  at  Hardscrabble,  Kitty  came  bounding 
into  the  sitting-room,  and  clasping  her  hands  in  glee, 
she  cried — 

'  'Oh  Zell!  arn't  it  jolly  though?  There's  to  be  a  grand 
ball  at  the  Marshe's!  It's  to  be  the  grandest  affair  of  the 
season!  Come,  cheer  up;  don't  look  so  glum!  Arn't 
Charley  home  yet?" 

"No,"  replied  Zell,   "I  think  not." 

"Think  not!  just  as  though  you  wouldn't  know!  But 
then  it  don't  matter  so  very  much;  for,  there's  Albert 
Dumars,  all  the  girls  in  town  are  just  crazy  after  him. 
Oh,  he's  almost  too  elegant  for  anything — you  will  let 
him  take  you,  won't  you,  Zell  dear?" 

"No,  I  won't;  so  there!" 

"Phew,  Miss  pert!  So  you  will  let  that  Lucy  King 
walk  off  with  the  prize,  will  you?  I  just  wouldn't  do  it. 
I  don't  care  if  you  don't  want  him." 

"Oh  Kitty,  for  shame  to  talk  so!  What  would 
Charley  say?  What  would  he  think  of  me?"  cried  Zell 
reproachfully. 

Just  then,  Frank  Smith  and  Albert  Dumars  entered 
the  room.  A  word  in  regard  to  Dumars  will  suffice  for 
now,  as  he  will  play  a  very  prominent  part  in  this  story 
henceforth.  He  was  a  young  man  of  twenty-six  years 

(188) 


AT  THE  BALL. 


A    BEAUTIFUL    SINGER.  189 

of  age;  a  very  handsome,  dashing,  and  superbly  elegant 
in  dress  and  manner;  attractively  winning  and,  as  Kitty 
has  said,  was  considered  a  prize.  As  they  entered  the 
room,  Kitty  greeted  them  with  thexexclamation: 

"Oh,  you  bad  boys;  you  are  always  happening  around 
just  when  you  are  being  talked  about." 

"Ah,  and  so  you  were  talking  about  us,  were  you, 
Miss  Zell?"  said  Dumars  with  his  latest  and  most  elegant 
bow,  approaching  Zell,  as  Kitty  had  appropriated  Frank 
for  herself — as  she  had  a  right  to  do,  for  it  was  whisper 
ed  that  they  were  already  engaged — leaving  Dumars  to 
the  tender  mercy  of  the  charming  Zell.  "Speak  of  the 
absent,  and  they  will  be  sure  to  surprise  you  by  their 
appearance,"  he  said. 

"Oh,  I  wish  it  were  true!"  exclaimed  Zell,  quickly. 

"Ah!"  murmured  Dumars,  with  a  significant  shrug  of 
the  shoulders.  But  come  to  the  piano,  Miss  Zell,  I  have 
not  heard  you  sing  for  so  long;  please  favor  us  with 
your  favorite." 

Seating  herself  at  the  piano,  Zell  sang  in  her  sweet, 
clear  voice:  "My  Rover  Will  Come  Again." 

Several  young  people  had  entered  the  room  and 
gathered  around  to  hear  her.  She  sang,  as  it  seemed  to 
those  gathered  about  her,  as  she  had  never  sang  before — 
as  though  her  whole  heart  and  soul  were  wrapped  up  in 
the  thought  which  those  words  inspired — that  her  "Rover 
would  come  again." 

"Oh  Zell,"  cried  Kitty;  then  bending  over  her, 
she  whispered:  "Don't,  Zell,  please  don't  do  it  again. 
Dumars  is  vanished — poor  fellow!  Come  now,"  she 
said,  "let's  go  and  put  on  our  raps,  it's  time  to  go.  The 
guest's  are  already  gathering. 


AT    THE    BALL. 

Already,  the  sweet  strains  of  music  came  floating  out 
upon  the  quiet  evening  air,  bidding  our  friends  and  their 
guests  to  come.  Putting  on  their  wraps,  they  were 
ready  and  Kitty  said,  pleadingly: 

"Just  this  once  Zell,  Charley  won't  care,  I  know  he 
won't  !" 

"No,"  said  Zell,  "I  won't  do  it!  He  knows  very  well 
that  I  don't  want  his  company;  I  will  certainly  refuse 
him  if  he  asks  me — let  him  go  with  those  that  want  his 
company." 

"Come  then,"  said  Kitty,  taking  her  cousin's  arm  and 
marching  her  off;  "I  won't  give  him  a  chance  to  ask  you. 
He  and  Frank  can  amuse  themselves  with  the  other 
girls  if  they  want  to." 

"It's  too  bad  to  drop  Frank,"  said  Zell. 

"Oh,  it  will  be  all  right  with  him,  he  will  understand 
what  it  means,"  answered  Kitty,  as  they  set  out  to 
gether. 

Down  through  the  elegant  parlors  of  the  Marsh  man 
sion,  as  they  entered,  floated  the  sweet  strains  of  the 
waltz.  The  gay  throngs  of  dancers  were  flitting  about 
or  gayly  chatting  in  little  groups  and  pairs.  Each  fair 
maiden  had  her  especial  group  of  admirers;  but  in  all 
that  gay  throng  of  charming  damsels,  there  was  not  one 
so  ardently  sought  for  or  so  much  admired  as  was  the 
fair  and  charming  Zell. 

"O  Zell,"  cried  Kitty,  gayly,  "isn't  this  jolly?  But 
here  comes  the  dashing  Dumars,  he  is  just  dying  to  win 
your  favor.  Did  you  see  him  dancing  with  Lucy?  Ah, 
but  she's—" 

"O  don't,  Kitty!"  remonstrated  Zell,  as  she  saw  Du 
mars  approaching. 


CHARLEY    RETURNS.  IQI 

"Ah,  Miss  Zell,  may  I  have  the  pleasure  of  your  com 
pany  for  this  charming  waltz?"  asked  Dumars. 

"It  is  my  favorite  and  you,  better  than  any  one  else, 
can  assist  me." 

"Thank  you,"  said  Zell  demurely,  accepting  his  invita 
tion.  And  together,  they  went  whirling  down  through 
the  brilliantly  lighted  parlors,  the  pride  or  envy,  as  the 
case  suited  of  all  that  vast  throng. 

Supper  was  announced,  and  Frank  and  Kitty,  Dumars 
and  Zell  went  down  together. 

After  supper,  Zell  and  Kitty  were  seated  with  their 
friends,  chatting  with  one  another,  when  Dumars  ap 
proached  and  in  his  bland,  smooth  tone  asked: 

"It  is  my  right,  I  believe,  Miss  Zell,  to  claim  this 
dance  with  you:  may  I  have  the  honor?" 

"O,  Zell,"  cried  Kitty,  bursting  tempestuously,  as  was 
her  want,  upon  the  scene,  "here  comes  Charley!  Oh, 
Mr.  Dumars,  are  you  acquainted  with  our  mentor?  Let 
me  introduce  you,  Mr.  Dumars,  let  me  acquaint  you 
with  my  friend,  Mr.  Shipton." 

"Happy  to  meet  you,  Mr.  Shipton.  My  lady  friends 
here  have  often  spoken  to  me  of  you." 

Zell  raised  her  eyes  with  a  look  of  surprise  at  this 
statement  of  Mr.  Dumars,  for  she  well  knew  that  neither 
she  nor  Kitty  had  done  anything  of  the  kind. 

"It  is  a  pleasure,  I  assure  you,  to  meet  any  one  of  the 
young  ladies'  friends,"  said  Charley.  "And  now,  Miss 
Kitty,  how  do  you  do?"  he  inquired,  taking  her  out 
stretched  hand.  "You  look  quite  happy  and  I  guess  that 
you  are  enjoying  yourself  well  enough  with  Frank,  so  I 
will  leave  you  to  take  care  of  yourselves  for  the  present. 
And  now,"  said  Charley,  turning  to  Zell. 


192  TELLS    HIS    STORY. 

"Excuse  me,  Mr.  Dumars,"  said  Zell. 

"Ah,  certainly,"  he  said  politely,  and  with  a  graceful 
bow,  he  turned  and  joined  Frank  and  Kitty. 

"How  is  my  little  friend,  Zell?"  asked  the  detective. 
"You  look  tired,  you  have  been  dancing  too  much,  I 
fear." 

"Oh,  I  am  tired,  Charley,"  she  said,  "but  not  with 
dancing,  for  I  have  danced  but  very  little.  But  you, 
Charley,  how  have  you  fared?" 

"Tolerably  well,  Zell;  that's  all  one  could  expect  of 
me." 

"Where  have  you  been?"  she  asked. 

"Down  to  Deep  Canon  mines;  but  then,  I  won't  tell 
you  now.  You  were  engaged  for  this  dance  to  Dumars; 
don't  disapoint  him,  Zell;  I  can  wait. 

"No,  no,  I  don't  want  to  dance,  I  want  you  to  tell  me 
the  news.  You  have  been  away  four  days — it  seems  a 
month  to  me — you  are  away  nearly  all  the  time.  But 
have  you  learned  anything,  Charley,  for  sure,  yet, 
about  Kingsbury?" 

"Yes,  I  have  trailed  him  to  his  hiding  place.  He  is 
down  there." 

"Come  in  here,  Charley,"  said  Zell,  leading  him  into 
a  conservatory;  "we  will  be  alone  in  here;  no  one  will 
hear  us.  Now  tell  me  all  about  where  you  have  been." 

"Ah,  Zell,"  said  Charley,  taking  both  her  little  hands 
in  his  broad,  brown  palms,  and  looking  down  into  her 
dark  blue  eyes,  with  such  a  longing,  wistful  look,  "I 
was  down  to  your  old  home.  I  went  to  the  Indian  vil- 
kge  and  learned  that  that  band  of  horse  thieves  that 
Kingsbury  spoke  of  had  been  broken  up.  The  Indians 
surprised  them  that  night  after  John  was  killed.  That 


TIRED    OF    GAYETY.  1 93 

was  the  battle  we  heard  that  night.  I  trailed  those  that 
escaped  to  Deep  Canon.  Jim  was  one  of  the  lucky  ones. 
But  his  day  is  coming  soon.  I  could  have  arrested  him, 
but  there  are  more  of  them  and  they  are  up  to  some 
new  game  and  I  want  to  find  out  what  it  is  and  get  the 
rest  of  the  gang.  There's  some  devilish  plot  or  game  on 
hand  and  this  Dumars  has  a  hand  in  it,  that  is  why  I 
came  back  so  soon;  I  want  to  see  what  he  is  up  to." 

"O,  Charley,  how  I  wish  that  I  could  help  you;  I  am 
sick  and  tired  of  all  this.  Nothing  but  one  continual 
round  of  gayety,  flattery  and  nonsense.  It  just  suits 
Kitty,  but  I  don't  like  it — it  makes  me  tired.  Oh,  it  is 
refreshing,  indeed,  to  have  one  good,  true  hearted  friend 
than  one  can  go  to  after  all  this!" 

"Ah,  Zell,"  he  murmured,  standing  before  her  and 
holding  both  her  hands  in  his,  while  he  read,  in  her 
beautiful  eyes  gazing  so  trustfully,  so  lovingly  into  his 
own,  the  love  of  a  pure  young  heart;  "you  ought  to  be 
happy,  if  beauty  and  a  host  of  admiring  friends  could 
make  a  girl  happy." 

But  the  grand  ball  was  over.  Tired  and  weary;  many 
with  aching  heads  and  some,  perhaps,  with  aching 
hearts,  the  guests  turned  their  faces  homeward. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


A    PLOT    DISCOVERED. 

"I  say,  Kingsbury,  how — 

''Confound  your  imprudence,  you  idiot,  if  you  ever 
call  me  by  that  name  again,  I'll  be  the  death  of  you!" 
cried  Kingsbury,  alias  King,  angrily. 

"Ah,  beg  pardon,  Mr.  King,"  said  Dumars,  I  forgot!" 

"It  won't  be  healthy  for  you  if  you  forget  again!" 
declared  Kingsbury.  But  what  is  the  news?  How's 
things  up  at  Hardscrabble?  You  were  there  last  night, 
were  you  not?" 

"Yes,  I  was  there  last  night  and  there  was  a  grand 
ball  at  the  Marshe's  and,  of  course,  all  the  big  bugs  were 
out.  I  saw  young  Smith  and  Kitty  Barnes  and  had  the 
honor  of  dancing  with  Miss  Zell." 

"You  are  too  infernal  familiar  with  Zell,  Albert  Du 
mars,  but  what  about  that  devilish  detective,  did  you  see 
anything  of  him?" 

"See  him!  I  should  smile;  and  I  had  an  introduction 
to  him  too,"  replied  Dumars. 

"Ah!  then  you  were  certainly  able  to  learn  something 
of  what  he  is  doing." 

"Not  much!  I  have  put  in  two  weeks  of  faithful 
work — I  have  worked  Frank  and  Kitty,  but  I  couldn't  do 
anything  with  Zell." 

"And  how  about  Lucy,  has  she  learned  anything?" 
asked  King. 

(194) 


THE  DARK  FIGURE. 


THE    EVIL    PLOTTERS.  195 

"No." 

"Well,  what  is  Charley  doing  anyway,  did  you  find 
out?" 

"No,  I  could'nt  find  out.  He  has  been  away  for  the 
last  four  or  five  days,  but  I  couldn't  find  out  where  he 
had  gone.  I  didn't  get  to  see  him  till  last  night,  at  the 
dance,  just  after  supper.  I  took  Zell  to  supper  and  was 
to  dance  with  her,  when  Charley  came  along  and  took 
her  away  from  me." 

"You  say  that  he  has  been  there  for  four  or  five  days 
till  last  night?" 

"Yes." 

"Dumars,  I  will  tell  you  what  it  is,  that  cunning  devil 
is  on  our  track!  Something  must  be  done,  and  ther.e  is 
no  time  to  dally  about  it  either.  What  have  you  learned 
anyway  that  will  give  us  a  clue  as  to  what  he  is  up  to?" 

"Not  a  solitary  thing  about  him.  But  I  learned  one 
thing  that  I  believe  will  help  us  out:  Kitty  and  Frank  are 
going  to  get  married  soon  and  then  they  will  go  to 
Helena.  I  think  that  they  calculate  to  stay  there.  Of 
course,  Zell  will  go  with  them,  and  so  will  Charley." 

"Good!  That  suits  me  very  well.  I  will  just  drop  a 
card  to  Dick  Taylor  and  have  him  prepare  a  reception 
for  them.  Ah,  there's  nothing  like  having  everything 
arranged  beforehand." 

"I  will  tell  you  my  plan,  Jim,"  said  Dumars.  "This 
thing  is  sure  to  come  off  in  a  few  days:  they  will  be  mar 
ried  before  a  week  at  most.  We  can  do  nothing  more 
here,  and  I  believe  that  Charley  has  been  down  about 
our  old  camping  ground  to  see  if  he  couldn't  find  out 
something;  perhaps  he  has  even  traced  us  here.  Those 


IQ6  JIM    KINGSBURY    MUSING. 

devilish   Indians  will  give   us  away  for  they  have,   ever 
since  that  night  that  you  laid  Barnes  out — " 

"Course  you,  Dumars,"  cried  King,  in  a  rage,  "don't 
you  ever  mention  that  affair  again!  But  go  on  with 
your  plans;  let  us  see  what  they  are." 

"Well,  it  is  this:  You  go  on  to  Helena  and  arrange 
things  with  Dick,  and  I  will  stay  here  and  make  arrange 
ments  to  go  with  them;  and  I  can  let  you  know  of  any 
change  in  their  plans  if  there  are  any,  you  know." 

"All  right!"  replied  Kingsbury. 

"And  now,  where  are  the  boys?"  asked  Dumars. 

"Jack  and  Dick  are  down  to  the  dance  hall,  of  course. 
Are  you  sure,  Dumars,  that  those  two  fellows  are  all 
right?" 

"Yes,  they  are  all  right;  we  can  trust  them,  never  you 
fear  about  that.  And  now,  I  must  have  a  little  rest,  for 
I  must  be  back  to  Hardscrabble  to-morrow  evening;  as  I 
have  an  engagement  there  that  I  must,  keep  without 
fail." 

"Ah,  well,"  mused  Jim,  as  he  found  himself  alone; 
"all  is  playing  into  my  hands  again  and  I  can  well  afford 
to  wait  for  a  while  yet.  I  have  rid  myself  of  all  but 
that  devilish  detective,  and  I  will  do  him  up  one  of 
these  fine  days,  'and  then,  my  pretty  little  Zell,  you 
shall  complete  what  the  diamond  lacks,  of  making  me 
rich  and  happy.  A  clean  half  million  and  a  beautiful 
wife,  then  I'll  away  to  some  foreign  land  where  I  can 
enjoy  myself  for  the  rest  of  my  days  in  peace  and  plenty. 
Ah,  Zell,  my  little  beauty,  I  will  soon  prepare  a  cage  for 
you!  Yes,  I  will  go  on  before  and  prepare  a  welcome 
for  you  and  for  him,"  said  Kingsbury,  and  ringing  for 
a  waiter,  he  called  for  writing  materials. 


ARRANGING    HIS    PLAN.  1 97 

"Ah,  John,"  he  said,  as  the  waiter  (a  Chinaman), 
brought  the  desired  articles,  '  'has  any  new  comers  ar 
rived  to-dav?" 

''Yes;  one  lady  and  one  man." 

"How  did  they  come,  John?"  he  asked. 

"On,  stage  from  Gallatin,"  replied  John. 

"No  others,  John?"  he  asked,  as  he  placed  a  shining 
quarter  in  the  Celestials  hand. 

"No,  no  more." 

"All  right;  that's  all,"  he  said,  "and  now,  to  arrange 
things.  I  have  a  little  game  of  my  own;  I  don't  just 
know  about  that  Dumars;  I  don't  like  his  style;  I  won't 
trust  him  anyway.  I  will  send  a  letter  to  Dick  Taylor 
to  have  the  boys  at  the  "Pass";  and  then  I  will  go  up 
just  before  they  do.  I  can  depend  on  Dick;  he  will  do 
up  the  detective  and  Dumars  too,  then  the  coast  will  be 
clear." 

Taking  up  the  pen,  he  wrote  long  and  carefully.  Fin 
ally,  he  threw  down  the  pen  and,  with  a  gleam  of 
triumph  in  his  eyes,  he  muttered: 

"There!  that  settles  it,  Dick  Taylor  and  his  gang  of 
desperadoes  will  attend  to  the  rest,  Dumars  included." 

For  some  time,  he  sat  in  silence  deeply  absorbed  in 
thought;  when,  suddenly,  as  if  awaking  from  some  hor 
rible  dream,  he  sprang  to  his  feet  and  looking  wildly 
about,  he  muttered: 

"God,  but  I  must  have  something  to  drink,  something 
to  drive  away  this  horrible  night  mare!  Oh,  the  image 
of  that  old  man's  face!  I  can  see  him  now,  as  he  fell — 
O  curse  you,  James  Barnes;  can't  you  rest  in  your  grave 
in  peace!" 

"In    my   grave!     Ha,    ha!"    came    in    a    low,   hissing 


198  A    GUILTY    CONSCIENCE. 

whisper,  which  to  the  horrified  man  seemed  to  be 
directly  at  his  side. 

Springing  to  his  feet,  Jim  rushed  franticly  from  the 
room  and  down  the  stairs  to  the  barroom  and  called  for 
whiskey.  In  his  terror  and  excitement,  forgetting  all 
else  save  to  banish  the  horrifying  image  of  the  murder 
ed  man's  face  from  his  mind. 

Scarcely  had  he  left  the  room,  when  a  dark  figure 
glided  quickly  and  silently  to  the  table.  For  a  few 
minutes,  the  figure  bent  over  the  telltale  letter,  scanning 
its  contents  closely;  and  then,  as  footsteps  sounded  in 
the  hall  below,  the  figure  glided  as  swiftly  and  silently 
away  again. 

"It's  all  right,"  muttered  Kingsbury,  as  he  entered  the 
room  and  picked  up  the  letter,  "but  curse  my  impru 
dence  for  leaving  it  there!  No  preying  eyes  have  seen  it, 
but  it  was  risky  business  just  the  same." 

Folding  the  letter,  he  placed  it  in  an  inside  pocket  and 
then  retired  for  the  night.  But  it  was  long  before  sleep 
came  to  his  guilty  conscience.  Visions  of  the  past  few 
weeks  rushed  through  his  mind  in  such  vivid  and  awful 
distinctness  as  to  nearly  drive  him  frantic.  But,  finally, 
under  the  influence  of  the  liquor  which  he  had  drunk,  he 
dozed  off  with  a  drunken  stupor,  rather  than  sleep.  But 
even  in  this  condition,  horrible  dreams  haunted  him  and 
made  life  almost  intolerable. 


DUMARS    AND    LUCY. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


LUCY. 

Early  the  next  morning,  Kingsbury  arose  from  the 
couch  where  he  had  passed  a  night  of  misery  and  horror. 
Worn  and  weary,  he  dropped  himself  down  to  the  stage 
office  and  mailed  his  letter  to  the  outlaw  chief. 

"Now,"  he  muttered,  "I  will  go  up  to  Hardscrabble 
and  see  what  Dumars  is  a  doing.  I  must  see  Lucy  be 
fore  I  go.  She  must  manage  to  go  up  to  Helena  with 
Zell.  I  will  arrange  things  with  her,  for  I  can't  trust 
Dumars.  I  wonder  what  he  is  a  doing  anyway — noth 
ing  good,  I'll  venture.  I'll  just  drop  in  on  them  to-night 
and  see  what  he's  up  to  with  her,  and  then  before  morn 
ing  I  will  be  off;  for  it  will  never  do  for  me  to  be  caught 
here  in  daylight." 

As  the  Deep  Canon  stage  drew  up  before  the  Way 
farers  hotel  at  Hardscrabble  that  evening,  Jim  Kings- 
bury,  alias  King,  stepped  from  the  stage  and  stood  upon 
the  porch  before  the  tavern.  As  he  stood  there,  Lucy 
King  (his  sister)  and  Dumars  came  out  of  the  hotel  and 
for  a  moment  stood  before  him.  So  well  was  he  dis 
guised,  that  they  did  not  recognize  him  in  the  guise 
of  the  rough  miner,  the  accomplice  and  brother. 

'!l  wonder  who  that  rough-looking  fellow  was?"  queried 
Lucy.  "He  looked  at  me  as  if  he  knew  me  or  would 
like  to  eat  me." 

(199) 


2OO  MISGUIDED    LUCY. 

"No,  no,  Lucy  dear,  not  like  to  eat  you,  but  never 
mind,  you  know;  beauty  is  attractive  to  all,  whatever 
and  by  whomever  seen.  But  come,  remember  our  en 
gagement;  let  us  hasten  on,  for  it  is  getting  late." 

"O  Albert,"  murmured  Lucy. 

x  -x-  *  •*  * 

"Who  is  it?"  queried  the  speaker's  companion,  in  a 
sad,  pitying  tone,  drooping  her  bead. 

"He  is  Albert  Dumars." 

"And  she." 

"Is  Lucy  King,"  he  answered.  And,  in  silence,  they 
passed  on  and  disappeared  in  the  darkness. 

But  why  not  have  drawn  the  curtain  of  delicacy  here 
and  shut  this  picture  from  view,  some  may  ask?  Ah,  I 
will  tell  you:  In  the  first  place,  this  dishonorable  act  was 
but  the  laying  of  that  foundation  upon  which  was  to  be 
enacted  a  scene  which  forms  one  of  the  principal  fea 
tures  of  this  life  sketch.  Again,  it  is  a  true  picture  of 
Western  life  as  we  find  it.  Why,  then  seek  to  con 
ceal  the  darker  shades  of  life,  revealing  only  the  bright 
and  beautiful? 

Censure  me  who  will!  A  picture  of  life,  like  that  of 
a  landscape,  would  be  incomplete  without  the  dark 
shadows  that  mark  the  places  where  the  bright  sunshine 
stops. 

"Confound  it  anyway,"  muttered  Kingsbury,  as  he 
watched  the  two  disappearing  forms;  "where  are  they 
going  anyway,  I  wonder!"  I  must  see  her  and  it  won't 
do  for  me  to  stay  here  till  morning.  I  wonder  if  I  can 
overtake  them?  If  I  only  knew  where  they  were  going," 
he  mused,  and  he  set  out  down  the  street. 

"Ah,  the  Eldorado,"  he  mused,  as  he  stopped  before 


DEADENING    HIS   CONSCIENCE.  2OI 

the  dance  hall.  "I  wonder  if  they  would — but  no,  Du- 
mars  would  dare  not  bring  her  here;  no,  no;  besides, 
she  wouldn't  go  to  such  a  place.  No  doubt  they  are  at 
some  place  of  amusement  and  won't  be  back  till  late. 

Suddenly,  and  as  though  some  new  and  happy  thought 
had  burst  upon  his  troubled  mind,  he  turned  a  corner 
and  walked  rapidly  down  another  street.  A  few  blocks 
farther  on,  and  under  the  full  glare  of  a  street  lamp  he 
came  suddenly  upon  Zell  and  Kitty  who  had  just  met  at 
the  postoffice  where  Charley  and  Frank  had  stopped  to 
enquire  for  letters  while  the  two  girls  walked  slowly  on. 

With  a  subdued  exclamation  of  surprise  and  admira 
tion  at  the  beautiful  vision  before  him,  Kingsbury 
checked  his  hurried  steps  for  a  moment;  but,  seeing 
the  approach  of  the  two  men  who  had  just  left  the  post- 
office  door,  and  whom  he  recognized  to  be  Charley  and 
Frank,  he  hurried  on  again. 

"Go  on,  my  pretty  bird,"  he  muttered,  "but  the  day 
is  soon  coming  when  I'll  cage  you!"  And  hurrying  on 
down  the  street,  he  soon  found  himself  knocking  at  a 
door. 

"Here,"  he  mused,  "for  an  hour  or  two,  under  the 
influence  of  wine,  can  I  find  a  respite  from  this  horrible 
nightmare  which  haunts  me  night  and  day." 

Then,  by  a  chance,  or  otherwise,  as  the  case  may  be, 
he  found  himself  beneath  the  same  roof  which  sheltered 
his  sister,  for  whom  he  was  searching,  but  whom  he  did 
not  expect  to  find  there. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

A   WEDDING. 

"O  Kitty,"  cried  Zell,  as  she  gave  a  quick,  frightened 
glance  behind  her,  at  the  retreating  form  of  Kingsbury 
in  the  guise  of  a  rough  miner,  "did  you  see  that  man? 
Did  you  notice  anything  strange  about  him?" 

"Why  no!"  laughed  Kitty,  "I  didn't  notice  him  at 
all.  You  are  always  seeing  strange  looks  and  actions  in 
every  rough  man  that  you  meet;  but  then,  I  don't  won 
der  much  that  you  do!" 

"O  why  don't  the  boys  come?  I  could  get  all  the  let 
ters  in  the  postoffice  in  less  time!"  cried  Zell. 

"O  fie,  Zell;  don't  be  frightened!  Here  they  come 
now.  Oh,  you  had  better  be  coming!"  she  exclaimed, 
taking  Frank's  arm  and  walking  on  in  advance. 

"What's  the  matter,  Zell?"  asked  the  detective,  as  he 
drew  her  arm  through  his  and  looked  down  in  her  fright 
ened  axious  face. 

"O  Charley,"  she  exclaimed  excitedly,  "I  have  seen 
Jim  Kingbury;  we  just  passed  him  as  we  turned  the 
corner  by  the  postofnce.  Didn't  you  see  him,  Charley?" 

"No,  Zell,  I  didn't;  or,  at  least,  I  didn't  recognize 
him." 

"He  was  disguised  as  a  miner." 

"Perhaps  you  were  mistaken,  Zell." 

"No,  no,  I  was  not  mistaken;  he  looked  surprised 
when  he  saw  me  and  he  muttered  something;  I  couldn't 
hear  what!"  cried  Zell. 

(202) 


KITTY  AND  ZELL. 


A    LETTER   FROM    FRED.  2O3 

"Well,  let  him  go  for  the  present;  we  will  have  a 
reckoning  with  him  some  day  and,  perhaps,  before 
long." 

"Did  you  get  me  a  letter,  Charley?"  asked  Zell. 

"Yes,  Zell,  I  have  a  letter  for  you.  It  is  from  Helena. 
Do  you  know  any  one  there?"  he  asked,  handing  her  the 
letter. 

'  'No,  I  don't  know  of  any  one  there  that  I  know.  O 
Charley,"  she  exclaimed,  scrutinizing  the  writing,  "I  do 
believe  that  it  is  my  brother  Fred's  writing!" 

"But  how  can  he  know  about  your  being  here?" 

"I  wrote  to  my  sister  Kate,  when  I  first  came  here, 
and  she  has  written  to  him,  I  suppose.  Let's  hurry 
home  and  see  what  he  has  to  say,"  said  Zell,  as  she 
placed  the  letter  in  her  pocket  and  hurried  on. 

"Kitty,  look,  look!"  cried  Zell,  as  she  and  her  com 
panion  reached  their  boarding  house.  "Oh,  I  have 
got  a  letter,  see?  It's  from  Fred!"  And  breaking  the 
seal,  she  read  it  to  her  friends. 

It  was  her  brother  who  was  at  Helena.  He  was 
interested  in  a  rich  mining  property  at  the  new  mines 
of  Ceur-De-Lion  and  wanted  her,  her  friend  and  Frank 
and  Kitty  to  come  on  and  go  there  with  him. 

"Kate  is  coming  soon,"  he  wrote,  "and  then,  if  you 
come,  we  will  be  together  again.  I  suppose  that  Frank 
and  Kitty  are  married  by  this  time  *  *  *  Come  as  soon 
as  possible,  for  I  want  to  reach  the  mines  in  time  to 
prepare  for  winter." 

Oh,  won't  that  be  jolly!"  cried  Kitty,  clapping  her 
hands  in  glee.  Oh  Charley,  you  will  go;  Zell  can't  go 
without  you,  can  you,  Zell?" 


2O4  A    HAPPY    BRIDE. 

"I  guess  that  he  will  go  with  us,"  said  the  girl  blush 
ing  crimson  at  her  cousin's  frankness. 

''Yes,  I  will  go  too,"  said  Charley.  "I  have  got  bus 
iness  as  far  as  Helena,  anyway." 

So  it  was  arranged.  They  were  to  start  just  as  soon 
as  possible. 

"I  want  to  arrest  Kingsbury  before  we  leave  here," 
said  the  detective,  "but  I  am  not  ready  yet." 

And  so  the  time  passed  quickly.  But  the  detective 
was  not  idle,  for  he  had  shadowed  Kingsbury  till,  at  last, 
becoming  alarmed,  he  had  fled  upon  the  very  day  when 
the  detective  was  going  to  arrest  him. 

Two  weeks  had  passed  since  Zell  had  received  her 
letter;  it  was  Kitty's  wedding  day.  All  Hardscrabble 
felt  called  upon  to  celebrate  the  grand  event.  A  grand 
ball  was  on  the  programme,  and  everything  was  ready; 
everybody  was  happy. 

"Charley,"  said  Zell,  meeting  the  detective  as  he 
returned  from  his  fruitless  search  for  Kingsbury,  radiant 
with  smiles  and  blushes;  "do  you  not  enjoy  this?  You 
look  troubled,  disappointed;  is  there  anything  wrong?" 
she  asked  anxiously. 

"No,  nothing  that  need  to  worry  anyone.  I  didn't 
find  Kingsbury;  he  has  fled;  he  has  friends  here  that 
have  found  out  in  some  way  that  I  was  'going  to  arrest 
him  and  they  have  warned  him." 

"Is  that  all,  Charley?"  she  asked,  with  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"Yes;  but  where  are  Frank  and  Kitty,  Zell?"  he 
asked. 

"Oh,  they  are  down  in  the  parlor,  entertaining  their 
friends  and  re-ceiving  congratulations.  We  were  disap 
pointed,  Charley,  because  you  weie  not  here." 


WILL    BE    LATE.  2O5 

"I  couldn't  help  it,  Zell.  I  wanted  to  be  here,  for  I 
never  saw  anyone  get  married,"  he  answered. 

"Oh,"  murmured  Zell,  -"you  ought  to  have  been  here. 
But  it  is  time  to  go  to  the  ball.  I  suppose  we  will  have 
to  go,  Charley,  but  I  don't  want  to,"  she  said,  as  she 
excused  herself  and  left  him  to  finish  her  toilet.  In  a 
few  minutes  she  returned  and  announced  that  she  was 
ready. 

"Ah,  Zell,"  said  Charley  admiringly,  "you  are  a  pretty 
girl!" 

"For  shame,  Charley,"  she  exclaimed,  turning  her 
blushing  face  away  from  him;  "how  long  since  have 
you  turned  flatterer?" 

Oh,  I  mean  your  clothes  are  pretty,  Zell;  I  didn't 
mean  you,  for  that  word  wouldn't  come  anywhere  near 
expressing  my  opinion  of  you,"  he  declared.  "But 
where  are  the  old  folks?" 

"The  old  folks!  what  do  you  mean?" 

"Kitty  and  Frank,  of  course.  They  are  old  folks 
now;  at  least  I  should  feel  old  if  I  were  married.  And 
there  was  a  sly  twinkle  in  his  honest,  gray  eyes. 

"Oh,  they  have  gone.  Come  let's  go,  we  will  be 
late,"  she  said. 

"Oh,  I  didn't  think  that  you  were  in  a  hurry;  but 
come,  let's  be  off." 

"I  ain't  in  a  hurry,  Charley,  please  don't  think  that 
of  me;  I  would  rather  not  go  at  all,  for  I  know  you 
don't  want  to  go.  But  tell  me,  Charley,  what  is  it  that 
troubles  you — I  know  there's  something  besides  what 
you  said  about  Jim .  It  isn't  fair  to  keep  anything  from 
me." 


2O6  CAUGHT  ON  TO  THEIR  GAME. 

"Oh,  I  have  caught  onto  a  little  game  lately  that 
worries  me  a  little.  Jim  Kingsbury  knows  about  our 
going  to  Helena — Dumars  and  Lucy  have  told  him,  I 
suppose — and  he  has  made  arrangements  to  meet  us  on 
the  road.  Of  course,  Zell,  you  know  what  his  object  is. 
It's  the  thought  of  what  might  have  happened,  had  I  not 
learned  of  their  plans.  He  has  made  arrangements  with 
Dick  Taylor  and  his  gang  of  desperados  and  horsethieves 
that  infest  the  vicinity  of  Helena,  to  meet  us  at  the 
'Pass'.  I  don't  know  what  or  where  the  'Pass'  is,  but  of 
course,  we  can  avoid  them.  "Have  you  seen  Lucy  and 
Dumars  to-day  to  speak  with  them?"  asked  Charley. 

"No,"  replied  Zell,  "I  have  not,  nor  do  I  want  to  see 
them." 

"They  intend  to  go  with  us,  I  believe,"  said  Charley. 

"Oh,  I  hope  not,"  said  Zell. 

"Dumars  and  Kingsbury  are  working  together;  Lucy 
has  a  hand  in  it  too,  or,  at  least,  they  use  her.  Did  you 
know  that  Jim  had  a  sister?" 

"No,"  replied  Zell,  "I  didn't  know  any  of  his  folks; 
I  never  heard  of  his  sister.  Is  Lucy  his  sister?" 

"Yes,  Lucy  is  his  sister.  He  goes  by  the  name  of 
King  here,"  said  Charley. 

"Ah,  we  are  late,"  said  Zell,  as  they  entered  the  hall, 
"and  here  comes  Kitty." 

"Oh  you  naughty  girl,"  exclaimed  Kitty,  "what  have 
you  been  doing  so  long?  Come  and  take  off  your 
wraps— 

"Let  me  congratulate  you  first,  Kitty;  Mrs.  Smith,  I 
should  have  said,"  said  Charley,  seizing  her  hand  and 
giving  it  a  squeeze  that  brought  the  tears  into  her  spark 
ling  eyes . 


IVING    HIM    THE    COLD    SHOULDER.  2O/ 

"Oh!"  she  cried.  "Thank  you,  Charley,  I  will  return 
the  congratulation  before  long,  I  think.  "Dear!"  ex 
claimed  Kitty,  as  they  returned  to  the  hall,  "what  a 
rough  boy  he  is!  He  nearly  broke  my  ringers." 

"Ah,  Miss  Zell,"  said  Dumars,  as  they  came  into  the 
hall,  "may  I  have  the  pleasure  of  your  company  for  this 
dance?" 

"Excuse  me,  Mr.  Dumars,"  replied  Zell,  with  ablush 
of  shame  upon  her  cheeks,  as  she  turned  and  walked 
away. 

"By  ginger,"  exclaimed  Charley  a  few  hours  later,  as 
they  were  returning  home,  "you  did  it  nicely.  Zell!" 

"Did  what,  Charley?"  asked  Zell,  looking  up  into  her 
companion's  face  in  surprise. 

"Oh,  I  was  just  thinking  how  Dumars  looked  when 
you  refused  to  dance  with  him.  By  thunder  now,  but  it 
took  the  breath  all  out  of  him!  I  would  hate  to  have 
you  refuse  me,  if  it  would  hurt  me  like  it  seemed  to  him. 
By  jinks  now,  I  will  wait  till  I  am  right  certain  before  I 
try  it!"  he  muttered  half  aloud. 

"If  you  were  no  more  honorable  than  he  is,  I  certain 
ly  would  refuse  you,"  she  said,  looking  away,  to  hide 
her  blushing  cheeks. 

"Ah,"  he  muttered,  "then  I  will  try  to  be  honorable, 
if  that  will  help  me  to  be  successful." 

"You  couldn't  be  otherwise  if  you  were  to  try,"  de 
clared  Zell  frankly. 

"Couldn't  be  otherwise  than  successful?"  asked  Char 
ley  quickly. 

"Oh,  I  didn't  say  that,"  she  replied  with  a  peculiar 
emphasis  upon  the  word  say. 


208  TOO   MUCH    HAPPINESS. 

"Oh,  but  I  hope  you  mean  it,  Zell,"  he  pleaded. 

"Oh,  come,  let's  go  home,  Charley,"  murmured  th< 
happy  girl;  for,  somehow  his  word  awakened  a  new  an< 
happy  hope  in  her  heart .  But  she  was  not  quite  pre 
pared  for  it  yet,  though  she  had  seen,  for  some  timi 
past,  that  it  was  coming.  It  was  no  surprise,  yet  it  wa 
almost  too  much  happiness,  she  thought,  for  such  ai 
unfortunate  girl  as  she . 


A  SUICIDE. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


LUCY  S    DEATH. 

The  next  day  after  the  wedding,  our  four  friends — 
Charley,  Zell  and  the  young  married  couple — started  on 
their  journey  for  Helena.  Dumars  and  Lucy  took  the 
same  stage  with  them. 

"We  have  been  intending  to  go  for  some  time  past," 
said  Dumars,  little  suspecting  that  his  plans  were  known 
by  the  detective  and  Zell. 

The  days  were  pleasant  and  the  ride  across  the  coun 
try  to  Gallatin  was  one  of  the  most  pleasant  imagina 
ble.  The  roads  were  good  and  the  scenery  grand  and 
beautiful,  and  so  quickly  did  the  first  few  days  pass  by, 
that,  almost  before  they  were  aware  of  it  they  had 
reached  the  town  of  Gallatin. 

The  morning  of  the  da}7 — Saturday— that  they  reached 
Gallatin,  an  old  man,  by  the  name  of  Dean,  with  his 
son,  a  lad  of  fourteen,  and  daughter,  a  very  handsome, 
graceful  girl  of  eighteen,  took  passage  on  the  stage  with 
them.  They,  too,  were  on  their  way  to  the  new  mines 
where  an  older  son  was  living. 

Here,  they  were  to  lay  off  over  Sunday;  and  so  they 
sought  a  hotel  where  they,  and  the  old  man  and  his 
children,  remained.  It  had  been  a  very  quiet  day,  for 
Sunday  in  Gallatin  was  a  dull  day,  and  the  time  dragged 
slowly.  But  at  last,  evening  came — a  beautiful,  moon- 

(209) 


2IO  OUT    FOR    A    RAMBLE. 

light  evening;  just  such  an  evening  as  lovers  are  wont 
to  choose  for  a  ramble. 

"Let's  go  down  town,  Zell,  and  see  what  we  can 
find,"  said  Charley,  throwing  down  a  novel  which  he  had 
vainly  been  trying  to  interest  himself  in. 

"I  don't  suppose  you  old  folks  want  to  go,"  said  Zell, 
as  she  put  on  her  hat  and  started  off  with  her  com 
panion. 

"Oh,  no,"  laughed  Kitty,  "we  will  stay  at  home — we 
don't  need  any  more  moonlight  rambles,  so  good-by, 
children." 

"What  shall  we  do,  Zell,  go  to  the  opera  or  to 
church?"  asked  Charley,  as  they  strolled  down  the 
street. 

"Just  as  you  please,  Charley,  I  am  not  particular 
about  either  to-night,"  she  answered. 

"Neither  am  I,  but  here  is  an  opera  house;  let's  go  a 
few  minutes;  I  want  to  see  if  I  can  see  anything  of  Du- 
mars.  I  haven't  seen  him  to-day,  have  you?" 

"Why  no,  of  course  not;  but  I  saw  Lucy  this  after 
noon,"  she  replied. 

The  play  was  not  interesting  to  either  of  them,  and 
they  were  heartily  glad  when  they  got  into  the  pleasant 
moonlight  again. 

"No,"  replied  Charley;  "they  wer?  not  there." 

"Did  you  see  anything  of  Dumars?"  asked  Zell. 

"I  saw  Lucy  this  afternoon;  she  is  not  well  I  think. 
I  never  saw  her  looking  so  badly  as  she  did  to-day," 
said  Zell;  "I  don't  think  that  Dumars  treats  her  well." 

"Do  you  believe  that  they  are  married,  Zell?"  queried 
Charley. 


A    BOAT  RIDE.  211 

"Why  I  suppose  so,  of  course — she  says  that  they 
are . " 

"I  don't  believe  it  just  the  same!'' 

"Let's  don't  talk  about  that,  Charley.  Come,  it  isn't 
late,  let's  go  down  by  the  river,"  said  Zell.  "Oh,  I 
wonder  if  we  can't  find  a  boat?  I  haven't  had  a  boat 
ride  since  we  came  down  from  the  mountains." 

"We  will  see.  We  ought  to  be  able  to  find  one  some 
where,"  said  the  detective,  as  they  strolled  along  the 
sandy  shore  of  the  river.  In  a  little  while  they  had  the 
satisfaction  of  finding  a  boat.  Pushing  the  little  boat 
into  the  stream,  they  seated  themselves  upon  a  seat  to 
gether  and  each  taking  an  oar,  they  rode  out  over  the 
smooth,  moonlit  surface  of  the  river. 

"O  how  lovely!  How  beautiful!  I  could  sail  on  like 
this  all  night  and  not  tire,"  exclaimed  Zell  in  a  glad, 
happy  tone. 

"Beautiful  indeed  Zell,  and  with  such  a  beautiful  girl 
as  you  for  a  companion,  I  could  almost  wish  to  float  on 
thus,  down  the  bright,  crystal  tide  of  the  beautiful  river 
of  life,  always.  For,  indeed,  beautiful  and  happy  must 
be  the  life  that  shares  a  companionship  with  you,  sweet, 
beautiful,  little  Zell,  through  life,"  murmured  Charley, 
looking  down  into  his  companion's  happy,  blushing  face, 
as  she  shyly  met  his  keen,  searching  gaze.  Vol 
umes  of  love — the  love  of  a  pure  and  noble  young 
heart,  were  expressed  in  her  shy  but  unfaltering  eyes. 

The  oars  trailed  listlessly  in  the  rippling  tide,  while 
the  little  boat,  as  if  it  understood  the  situation,  and 
left  without  a  guiding  hand,  swung  around  and  drifted 
aimlessly  down  the  stream. 


212  A   SUICIDE. 

"Zell,"  whispered  Charley,  bending  low  over  the 
blushing  girl  and  pressing  his  lips  to  hers — to  those 
sweet,  ruby  lips  which  had  tempted  him  so  often,  yield 
ing  so  readily,  so  lovingly,  while  her  bosom  heaved  with 
that  fierce,  passionate  love  which  was  struggling  within, 
"Zell,  will  you— " 

O  cruel  fate!  For  at  that  very  moment,  that  moment 
of  all  others  when  they  should  have  been  left  alone,  un 
disturbed;  out  upon  the  still  night  air,  rang  a  low, 
frightened  cry. 

''O  Charley!"  cried  Zell,  starting  up  from  her  blissful 
dream,  "what  was  that?" 

Without  a  word  Charley  had  seized  the  oars,  and  with 
long,  swift  and  powerful  strokes,  sent  the  boat  bound 
ing  away  over  the  water  in  the  direction  from  whence 
the  sound  came. 

Standing  in  the  bow  of  the  boat,  Zell  watched,  scan 
ning  the  surface  of  the  dark,  cold  water,  closely,  hop 
ing,  yet  fearing,  to  see  the  object  of  their  search. 

On,  on  sped  the  little  boat,  over  the  silvery  surface 
of  the  sluggish  river,  like  a  frightened  bird.  On  swiftly 
now,  when  a  cry  from  Zell,  just  as  the  boat  struck 
something,  brought  Charley  to  his  feet  and  to  his  com 
panion's  side. 

A  white  object  floated  in  the  water  beside  the  boat. 
In  an  instant  Zell  had  grasped  it  and  in  another  moment 
Charley's  strong  hand  assisted  her  in  raising  the  limp 
and  apparently  lifeless  form  of  a  fair  young  girl  from  the 
river. 

"O  my  God!"  cried  Zell,  as  she  gazed  into  the  white, 
deathlike  face,  looking  so  pale  and  ghastly  in  the  moon- 


A   SAD   ENDING.  213 

light;    "Charley,  it  is  Lucy  King." 

4 'Poor  girl!"  said  Charley  pityingly.  "Poor  child; 
this  is  the  sad  sequel  to  a  life  of  shame!  Ah,  had 
she  a  true  and  honorable  friend  in  whom  she  could  have 
trusted,  this  might  not  have  happened." 

"Sadly  they  bore  the  unfortunate  girl  to  her  hotel. 
A  physician  was  summoned,  but  he  declared  that  there 
was  no  hope. 

All  day  Monday  and  Monday  night  they  watched  be 
side  the  dying  girl,  whose  only  wish,  whose  only 
prayer  seemed  to  be,  to  see  the  man  who  had  lured  her 
to  shame  and  to  death. 

"Oh  Al,"  she  moaned,  "if  I  could  only  see  you  once 
more  before  I  die,  that  I  could  forgive  you,  for  I  love 
you  sol" 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


FOILED. 

4 'Who's  this  here,  Mars  or  Dumars,  that  yer's  a  speak- 
in'  of,  Jim?"  querried  Dick  Taylor  the  outlaw  chief,  of 
whom  we  have  heard  mention  before,  as  he  and  Jim 
Kingsbury  stood  in  the  road  at  the  foot  of  a  long  and 
steep  hill  over  which  the  stage  road  extended. 

"Oh,  he's  a  friend  of  mine,  or  rather  of  Kitty's.  He  is 
her  husband,  I  suppose,  for  they  were  married,  so  they 
say,  not  long  ago  down  at  Hardscrabble,"  replied  Jim. 

-"So  they  are  comin'  on  with  the  covies,  are  they? 
Wall  you've  been  workin'  them  pertty  fine,  I  should  say 
anyhow.  So  they  arnv'  at  Gallatin  Saturday,  did  they?" 
asked  the  outlaw. 

"Yes;  they  stayed  there  yesterday  and  will  be  here  to 
night  if  nothing  happens,"  replied  Jim. 

"Yes,  'cordin'  to  that  they  ought  to  be  here  to-night." 

"They  will  be  here  all  right.  Tell  every  man  to  make 
sure  of  that  detective;  kill  him  on  sight!"  said  Kingsbury 
nervously. 

"Never  yer  fear;  we'll  settle  his  hash  for  him.  If 
there's  anything  the  boys  'd  ruther  do  's  to  eat,  it's  to 
kill  a  d — d  detective.  But  why  did  you  change  yer  first 
plans,  do  ye  think  this  air's  a  better  place  for  the  job  or 
what?"  asked  Taylor. 

"No,"  replied  Kingsbury,  "not  a  better  place,  but  a 
surer  one." 

(214) 


THE  MASSACRE. 


WITH   THE   OUTLAWS.  21$ 

"An'  why'd  yer  think  it  air  a  surer  one?" 

"Well,  the  reason  I  think  so  is  this:  The  night  I  wrote 
that  letter,  I  had  one  of  my  cursed  tantrums  and,  after 
finishing  the  letter,  I  went  down  to  get  a  quieter  and  left 
the  letter  lying  upon  the  table.  I  thought  of  it  as  soon 
as  I  got  down  there,  and  I  hurried  back  as  soon  as  I 
could,  but  still  there  was  a  plenty  of  time  for  any  one 
that  might  have  been  watching  to  have  went  in  and  read 
a  part  of  the  letter  at  least.  That  cursed  detective  was 
there  that  night,  so  I  learned  afterward.  I  don't  know 
that  he  was  watching  me,  but  there's  no  telling;  so  I 
thought  it  would  be  safer  to  change  the  place." 

"Wall  that  was  about  right.  I  reckon  it  air  the  safest 
plan;  but  are  you  sure  that  they  '11  be  here  to-night?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Kingsbury,  "I  met  my  friend,  Dumars, 
at  the  Toll-gate  last  night  and  he  told  me  that  they  ar 
rived  at  Gallatin  Saturday,  and  would  start  again  Mon 
day  morning.  John  is  driving,  so  we  will  have  no  trouble 
in  stopping  him.  It  was  about  eight  o'clock  this  morn 
ing  when  I  left  him  at  the  Toll-gate.  He  will  stay  there 
and  Lucy  will  come  on  with  her  friends — Zell  and 
Kitty." 

"Who's  this  air  Kitten  anyway?     Is  she  a  girl?" 

1  'Yes,  she  is  a  girl.  She  is  married,  but  that  don't 
hurt  her,  she's  only  a  girl.  She  has  been  married  only 
about  a  week,  and  is  as  sweet  as  a  peach.  You  can 
have  her  if  you  want  her." 

"Bet  yer  life  I  want  'er,"  said  the  bandit  chief. 

'  'Well,  come,  it's  time  that  we  were  arranging  matters 
for  their  reception.  It's  nearly  five  o'clock;  they  will  be 
here  within  half  an  hour,"  said  Kingsbury;  and  together 
they  turned  from  the  road,  and  went  back  into  the  dense 


2l6  IN   AMBUSH. 

belt  of  heavy  timber  which  skirted  the  margin  of  the 
swamp. 

The  men  were  soon  called  together  and  instructed 
even  to  the  minutest  details  as  to  how  they  were  to  pro 
ceed.  Every  necessary  arrangement  was  carefully  made 
for  the  attack  upon  the  stage  upon  which  our  friends 
were  making  their  journey.  The  place  chosen  for  the 
attack,  was  a  dark,  dreary  swamp,  the  scene  of  many 
a  heartless  and  bloody  tragedy. 

Situated  as  the  swamp  was,  in  a  dark  canon  in  the 
mountains,  it  offered  every  facility  for  an  enemy  to  make 
an  immediate  and  unsuspected  attack  upon  passing  stage 
or  wagons;  and  it  was  here,  that  many  such  attacks  had 
been  made.  Deep  down  in  the  dark  shadows  of  this 
dismal  swamp,  the  highway  men  were  waiting  in  am 
bush,  while  Kingsbury  and  Taylor  were  posted  in  a  posi 
tion  where  they  could  see  the  road  from  the  summit  of 
the  high  ridge  almost  to  the  margin  of  the  swamp.  Here 
they  were  impatiently  watching  and  waiting. 

"Ah,  look,  look!"  cried  Jim  in  a  subdued  and  excited 
tone.  "Look,  there  they  come."  And  he  pointed  to 
the  top  of  the  hill  over  which  the  stage  was  just  coming. 

The  driver,  after  pausing  for  a  few  moments  to  allow 
his  jaded  horses  to  breathe,  dashed  on  down  the  long, 
steep  incline  at  a  thundering  pace  toward  the  dark, 
gloomy  swamp. 

On  thundered  the  coach.  Now  it  had  just  reached 
the  dreaded  place,  and  the  swamp,  as  if  gloating  in 
triumph  over  its  unsuspecting  victims,  reached  out  its 
dark  shadows  like  death's  arms  and  seemed  to  draw  the 
stage  with  its  doomed  victims  into  its  cold,  deadly  em 
brace,  into  its  very  heart. 


A   DUMBFOUNDED   VILLAIN.  217 

"Halt!" 

The  command  rang  out  with  terrible  importance  and 
with  unmistakable  distinctness  upon  the  still  evening  air 
of  that  dismal  swamp. 

Oh,  with  what  a  chill  of  horror  and  dismay,  did  those 
ill  fated  travelers  hear  that  brutal  word  of  command. 
Cowering  within  the  dark  shadows  of  the  coach,  they 
awaited  in  fear  and  trembling. 

At  the  word  of  command,  a  score  of  desperadoes  sprang 
up  around  the  stage,  while  the  ominous  click  of  as  many 
guns  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  and  dismay  to  the  hearts  of 
the  five  inmates  of  the  besieged  stage  coach. 

"Every  man  step  right  this  here  away,  an'  be  mighty 
quick  about  it  too,  an'  make  no  mistakes  about  it  neither!" 
came  in  the  heartless,  cruel  words  of  command  from  the 
bandit  chief — Dick  Taylor. 

In  a  moment,  the  two  men  within  the  coach  were 
dragged  forth  and,  at  the  muzzles  of  a  score  of  re 
volvers,  were  hurried  off  into  the  dark  swamp. 

As  the  men  were  hustled  out  of  the  coach,  the 
bandit  chief  thrust  his  head  through  the  door-way  and 
peering  within,  he  beheld  the  cowering,  trembling  forms 
of  the  three  female  occupants. 

"Ha,  ha,"  he  laughed  in  his  coarse,  brutal  voice, 
"ha,  ha,  my  pretty  bird!  Right  this  way  if  yer  please 
mum  and  be  quick  about  it!"  he  said  seizing  the  arm 
of  one  of  the  trembling,  half  fainting  girls  and,  drag 
ging  her  from  the  coach,  he  bore  her  away  into  the 
swamp. 

"Great  Jupiter,"  cried  Kingsbury,  as,  after  seeing 
the  prisoners  dragged  away,  he  turned  and  entered 


2l8  THE    MASSACRE. 

the  coach  in  the  gloating,  triumphant  expectation  of 
beholding  his  helpless  victim — the  beautiful  Zell,  "there's 
a  mistake  here!  God,"  he  cried,  "who  are  you  any 
way?  Speak !"  he  shouted,  clutching  the  arm  of  a 
crouching  female  figure  and  half  dragging  her  from  the 
coach.  "Treachery!"  he  fairly  yelled,  pushing  the  girl 
back  into  the  stage  and  dashing  away  after  the  out 
laws  who  had  dragged  the  prisoners  away. 

"Hold,  hold!"  he  shouted.  "For  God  sake  spare 
those  men!  There's  a  mistake  here,  there's  treachery!" 

But  he  was  too  late;  for,  already,  the  two  men  lay 
pale  in  death.  Too  faithfully  had  those  heartless  assas 
sins  obeyed  the  commands  of  their  leader.  The  hard 
ened,  blood-stained  outlaws  had  made  no  mistake,  but 
had  done  their  bloody  work  all  but  too  well. 

"What's  ther  row  here  anyhow?"  demanded  Taylor, 
approaching  the  excited  .Kingsbury. 

"Row?  row  enough,"  fairly  yelled  the  exasperated  vil 
lain,  as  the  horrible  fact  dawned  upon  his  mind  that, 
not  only  had  a  fearful  mistake  been  made,  but,  what  to 
him  was  still  worse,  he  had  been,  in  some  unaccountable 
manner,  completely  foiled  in  his  fiendish  plot.  "There's 
treachery  here— 

"Curse  you,"  shouted  the  excited  and  infuriated  mob; 
* 'don't  ye  cuse  us  of  treachery!"  and,  in  an  instant, 
knives  and  pistols  gleamed  in  the  fast  gathering  gloom. 

"Hold  on,  boys,  let's  vestigate  this  air  a  leetle!"  com 
manded  the  outlaw  chief.  "Splain  matters  Jems;  what's 
ther  row?" 

"Explain  nothing!  No  explanations  are  necessary! 
There's  treach — there's  a — a  mistake  here,  somehow," 


CLAIMS    HIS    PRIZE. 

he  stammered.  ''They  are  not  the  persons  that  we  want 
at  all !" 

"The  devil  they  ain't!"  exclaimed  Taylor.  "Don't  try 
ter  run  no  gag  on  us,  Jems;  just  fork  over  that  thousand 
dollars  if  yer  please  an'  makes  no  mistakes  about  it 
neither." 

"Not  a  single  cent  do  I  pay,  till  you  fulfill  the  contract!" 
cried  Kingsbury  in  a  rage. 

"Better  fork  'er  over  Jems,"  warned  the  outlaw;  and 
there  was  a  gleam  of  wicked  triumph  in  his  cruel  eyes. 
"You  'r  'sponsible  for  this  air  deed — my  men  made  no 
mistakes  here,"  pointing  to  the  two  murdered  men,  "so 
anty  up  quicker  'n  lighning!" 

"Ho,  here,  you  fellows!"  cried  Kingsbury,  as  he  hand 
ed  the  money  to  the  robber  captain.  "We  have  been 
betrayed,  there's  treachery  somewhere,  but  I  don't  ac 
cuse  any  of  you;  it's  Dumars!  Ho!  away  then  to  the 
Toll-gate  and  bring  him  here!  I  left  him  there  this 
morning;  he's  there  yet!"  And  in  a  few  minutes,  a  half 
dozen  horsemen  were  speeding  away  to  bring  the  accused 
man. 

"Curse  the  infernal  luck!"  cried  Jim,  "this  will  spoil 
my  game — Hello!  what  in  thunder  is  this?"  he  demanded; 
he  saw,  for  the  first  time,  the  fair  and  unconscious 
captive. 

"Ha,  ha,"  laughed  the  outlaw  fiend,  "isn't  she  a  beau 
ty?  This  air  is  my  prize!" 

"Oh  Taylor,  this  will  never  do;  the  whole  country 
will  be  after  us  in  no  time!"  remonstrated  Jim. 

"Let  'em  come!"  laughed  Taylor.  "It  '11  not  be  the 
first  time  they've  been  after  us.  I  need  this  air  bird  for 
my  nest!"  he  declared. 


220  t 'THERE'S  A  MISTAKE." 

"Ah!  here  they  come  with  the  traitor,"  cried  Kings- 
bury  excitedly,  as  the  men  returned  with  Dumars. 
"What,  ho!"  he  shouted,  "away  with  him!  String  him 
up!" 

"For  God  sake,  Jim,"  wailed  the  shivering,  terror- 
stricken  Dumars,  "hear  me;  there's  a  mistake  here; 
there's  a — " 

"Away  with  him!"  yelled  the  infuriated  Kingsbury. 
"String  him  up!  String  him  up!" 

"Hole  don  thar!"  commanded  Taylor.  "Give  ther 
feller  a  chance  ter  say  his  say!" 

"Yes,  yes,"  came  from  a  dozen  others,  "let  'im  say 
his  say." 

"So  help  me  God,"  cried  Dumars,  "I  know  nothing 
of  this  matter!" 

"But  how  in  the  name  of  tophet  did  it  happen,  then?" 
demanded  Kingsbury.  '  'There's  something  wrong  some 
where.  " 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  Dumars.  "Every  thing  was 
all  right  when  I  left." 

"Didn't  Lucy  come  on  to  the  Tollgate?"  asked  Jim. 

"No,"  replied  Dumars. 

4  'What  do  you  suppose  the  reason  is  why  she  didn't 
come  ?" 

"I  can't  even  guess." 

"You  don't  think  that  she  has  weakened  and  given 
our  plans  away,  do  you?" 

"I  don't  know;  she  has  been  a  little  off  for  a  day  or 
two,  but  I  never  apprehended  anything  wrong, "  replied 
Dumars. 

"No  trouble  between  you  and  Lucy,  is  there?" 


OFF  FOR  THEIR  RETREAT.  221 

"No,  no;  she  is  subject  to  such  spells  ocasionally," 
said  Dumars. 

"But  what  are  we  to  do,  Dumars?  The  whole  coun 
try  will  be  up  in  arms  against  us  in  no  time.  Something 
must  be  done.  In  half  an  hour,  Taylor  will  be  off  for 
his  retreat  in  the  canons  of  the  Clay  Mountains.  There 
in  the  deep  canons  and  almost  inaccessible  denies  they 
have  their  cabins." 

"It's  a  duced  shame,"  declared  Dumars,  "for  that 
ugly  villain  to  carry  off  that  pretty  girl!" 

"Never  mind  the  girl;  we  have  all  that  we  can  pos 
sibly  do  to  look  after  ourselves  for  a  while  at  least, 
without  thinking  of  her.  The  question  now  is,  what  are 
we  to  do?" 

"Let's  go  back  to  Gallatin  as  soon  as  we  can.  No 
one  will  suspect  us  of  complicity  in  this  affair,"  said 
Dumars. 

"Wall,"  querried  Taylor  approaching  the  two,  "'t  won't 
do  to  dally  any  longer  here;  the  jig's  up  for  this  hitch 
what  conclusion  have  ye  arin  at?" 

"We  will  have  to  lay  for  them  again  at  some  other 
time,"  said  Jim.  "We  will  go  back  to  Gallatin  and  see 
what's  the  rip." 

"All  right!"  said  the  outlaw,  "I  hope  ye  '11  come  out 
all  O.  K. .  . .  If  yer  needs  any  more  'sistance,  just  drap 
us  a  keerd,"  he  said;  and  turned  back  to  his  gang  who 
were  mounted  and  ready  to  go. 

"Well,  now  then,"  said  Kingsbury,  "let's  be  off. 
Where  are  you  and  Lucy  stopping?" 

"At  the  Continental." 

"And  Zell  and  the  others?" 

"At  the  Windsor." 


222  MORE  WICKED  PLANNING.   • 

'  'Ah,  well,  I  will  go  to  La  belle  Kittie's.  Come  on, 
let's  be  off." 

"Perhaps,  that  we  had  better  not  go  together,"  sug 
gested  Dumars. 

"Perhaps  not.  I  will  follow  after,  so  you  can  ride  on 
in  advance." 

"By  thunder,"  muttered  Dumars,  as  he  rode  rapidly 
away  to  Gallatin,  "things  are  getting  better  every  day! 
This  thing  must  terminate  before  long;  but  how,  that's 
the  question?  The  first  thing  for  me  to  do,  is  to  get  rid 
of  Lucy;  but  the  question  is,  how  am  I  to  do  it?  Once 
rid  of  her,  there  will  be  but  two  between  me  and  Zell, 
and  their  taking  off  is  already  provided  for.  This  affair 
will  necessarily  make  a  change  in  our  plans — Yes,  I  will 
do  it!"  he  muttered,  as  some  new  thought  seemed  to  strike 
him.  "Yes,  I  will  send  her  on  to  Helena  by  the  first 
stage  and  I  will  come  on  when  I  get  ready — O  yes!  Ah, 
so  then,  I  am  virtually  rid  of  you,  Miss  Lucy.  As  for 
Jim,  I  will  rid  myself  of  him  just  as  he  thought  to  rid 
himself  of  me — just  as  he  rid  himself  of  John  Barnes. 
But,  first  and  worst  of  all,  is  that  detective.  If  Jim  had 
succeeded  here,  as  planned,  all  would  have  been  well; 
but  now,  I  am  afraid,  there  will  be  a  difficulty  in  getting 
him  out  of  the  way.  Once  rid  of  him,  I  can  do  Jim  up 
in  a  very  short  time." 

"But  what  in  the  name  of  Satan  has  happened  any 
way?  Can  it  be  possible  that  Lucy  has  betrayed  us? 
No,  no;  that  can't  be;  she  is  too  faithful — she  thinks  too 
much  of  me,"  he  said  with  a  pang  of  regret  for  the  in 
jured  girl. 

Riding  swiftly  on,  he  arrived  at  his  destination  a  little 


LUCY'S    DEATH.  223 

before  daylight.  Delivering  his  horse  to  the  stable  boy, 
he  repaired  to  Lucy's  apartments  at  the  hotel. 

Somehow  an  uneasy  feeling  stole  over  him  as  he 
passed  down  the  hall  toward  her  room.  The  door  was 
partially  open,  and  he  could  see  that  a  dim  light  was 
burning  within. 

4 'Hello,  here!"  he  exclaimed,  in  alarm,  as  he  paused 
in  the  half  open  door  of  Lucy's  room.  ' 'What's  up?" 

By  the  dim  light  of  the  lamp  burning  low,  he  beheld 
a  sight  that  sent  a  chill  of  horror  to  his  guilty  heart. 

Lying  upon  the  bed  before  him,  dressed  in  her  snow- 
white  robe  and  with  the  palor  of  death  upon  her  fair, 
young  face,  lay  Lucy  King,  the  girl  who  he  had  lured  to 
dishonor,  shame  and  death.  At  her  bed-side,  sat  Zell 
and  the  detective. 

"Ah,  Dumars,"  said  the  detective  stepping  quickly  to 
the  guilty  man's  side  and,  clutching  his  arm,  "come  here 
and  behold  the  result  of  your  villainous  treachery!' 

Slowly,  the  eyes  of  the  dying  girl  opened  and  rested 
upon  the  face  of  her  distroyer. 

"Al!"  she  murmured  faintly,  "I  am  so  glad  that  you 
have  come  back.  I  wanted  to  see  you  once  more  before 
I  die — Oh,  we  might  have  been  so  happy — but  it  s  nearly 
over.  God  forgive  me,  for  I  couldn  t  bear  the  thought 
of  what  would  happen — the  shame  and  disgrace  of  your 
unfaithfulness.  I  forgive  you,  as  I  pray  God  to  forgive 
me." 

The  white  lips  faltered;  there  was  a  gasp,  a  quiver  of 
the  lids  as  they  closed  over  the  blue  eyes  and  the  ashen 
palor  of  death  took  the  place  of  the  momentary  flush 
that  had  suffused  her  pale  cheek.  Lucy,  wronged, 
broken-hearted  Lucy  was  dead. 


224  A    FAIR    WARNING. 

4 'Perhaps  that  you  had  better  retire,  Dumars,"  said 
the  detective  in  a  cold,  stern  tone.  "Zell  and  I  will 
watch  till  morning." 

Without  a  word,  Dumars  turned  and  left  the  hotel. 

Morning  came  ;  and  the  funeral  was  over.  The 
mourners — Dumars  and  our  four  young  friends — turned 
from  the  grave  after  taking  one  last  look  and  retraced 
their  steps  homeward. 

''Dumars,"  said  Charley,  as  they  turned  from  the 
grave,  "let  me  warn  you:  We  know  the  story  of  this 
poor  girl's  shame.  She  has  taken  her  life  to  escape  a 
still  greater  disgrace.  I  could  arrest  you,  and,  if  the 
people  of  this  town  knew  the  story  of  your  damnable 
perfidy,  you  would  never  live  to  see  the  end  of  this  day. 
Know,  then,  that  it  is  by  Lucy  s  earnest  solicitation,  her 
dying  prayer,  that  you  are  allowed  to  go  free.  I  warn 
you  now — be  very,  very  careful  and  not  cross  my  path 
again!" 

"Zell,"  said  Charley,  as  Dumars  hurried  away,  "I 
ought  not  to  let  that  man  go  free!  " 

"But,  Charley,"  said  Zell  pleadingly,  "you  know  that 
I  promised  Lucy — 

"But  Lucy  will  never  know  any  differently,"  inter 
rupted  Charley. 

"Charley!"  cried  Zell  in  tears. 

"Well,  it  shall  be  on  you,  Zell,"  he  said. 


To  THE  RESCUE. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


TO   THE   RESCUE. 

"Ah,  I  wonder  what  is  up  now?"  ejaculated  Dumars, 
as  he  returned  from  the  funeral  and  found  a  crowd  of 
excited  men  gathered  before  the  hotel."  Perhaps 
I  had  better  not  go  there.  Ah,  I  will  go  down  and  see 
Jim  and  find  out  what's  up.  He  feels  a  little  sore  about 
Lucy's  death,  but  he  suspects  nothing,"  he  mused,  and 
he  hurried  down  another  street  in  order  to  avoid  the 
crowd. 

"Hello!"  exclaimed  Frank,  as  our  four  friends  re 
turned  and  saw  the  excited  gathering  which  had  given 
Dumars  so  much  concern. 

"I  wonder  what  is  the  row  here?" 

'  'Go  in  with  the  girls,  Frank,  and  I  will  see  what's  up, " 
said  the  detective. 

"It  was  Dick  Taylor  and  his  gang  of  cutthroats!" 
cried  a  score  of  voices. 

Mingling  with  the  crowd,  the  detective  soon  learned 
of  the  murderous  attack  upon  the  stage  and  the  kid 
napping  of  the  unfortunate  girl  whose  father  and  brother 
were  killed  in  mistake  for  the  detective  and  Frank,  in 
the  dark,  dismal  swamp. 

"The  wonder  of  it  is,"  said  one,  "they  didn't  rob  the 
stage." 

"There  must  have  been  some  other  motive  for  the 
attack,"  declared  another. 

(225) 


226  GETTING    READY. 

"Oh,"  exclaimed  Charley,  and  he  returned  to  the 
hotel  parlor  and  related  the  story  to  his  three  companions 
and  a  few  others  that  were  gathered  there;  "I  might 
have  told  them  of  the  motiv£  for  that  murderous  at 
tack — poor  Lucy!"  he  murmured,  "poor,  wronged  Lucy! 
In  dying  you  have  saved  our  lives  though  we  could  not 
save  yours.  "Zell,"  he  said,  "the  fate  of  this  poor  girl 
has  saved  our  lives.  The  story  of  her  shame  has  led 
to  the  story  of  our  lives.  But  this  is  not  all,"  he  said, 
and  his  voice  assumed  that  deep,  passionate  tone  which 
betrayed  the  pent-up  passion  of  his  noble  heart.  "This 
is  not  all,  for  they  have,  not  only  killed  the  old  man  and 
his  son,  but  have  carried  that  poor,  little  girl  away." 

"OGod!"  cried  Zell;  "Charley,"  she  said,  stepping 
before  him,  her  voice  trembling,  her  eyes  flashing  while 
her  bosom  heaved  with  that  wild,  uncontrollable  passion, 
which,  sometimes,  was  awakened  within  her  brave,  gen 
erous  heart;  "it  was  on  our  account  that  this  outrage 
was  committed — you  must  go  to  the  rescue  of  this  poor 
girl!" 

"And  1,  too!"  cried  Frank. 

"No,  you  will  stay  with  the  girls;  I  can  get  the  help 
I  need  here,"  said  the  detective .  And  he  left  the  room. 
Going  down  into  the  crowded  barroom,  he  told  of  the 
plot  to  waylay  and  murder  him  and  his  friend  Frank  as 
the  object  of  the  attack  upon  the  stage. 

"Boys,"  he  shouted,  as  he  drew  a  revolver  and  waved 
it  above  his  head,"  I  am  going  to  the  rescue  of  that 
poor  girl,  to  avenge  the  death  of  those  two  unfortunate 
travelers .  Are  there  any  here  that  will  volunteer  to  help 
me?  If  there  are,  be  here  armed  and  mounted — I  will 
start  in  five  minutes." 


AFTER   THE    OUTLAWS.  22/ 

Five  minutes  had  passed  and  fifty  armed  and  mounted 
men — the  vigilants  of  Gallatin — stood  before  the  hotel. 

Down  the  steps,  came  the  detective;  then,  pausing  for 
a  moment,  before  the  rangers  and  the  vast  crowd,  and 
raising  his  hand  above  his  bared  and  bowed  head,  he 
said  in  a  low,  solemn  tone — 

"God  willing,  I  will  not  rest  till  this  outrage  has 
been  avenged!" 

For  a  brief  second  he  pressed  the  little  hand  that 
had  stolen  into  his,  and,  with  a  quick,  reassuring  glance 
into  those  brave,  hopeful  eyes  of  his  little  companion, 
he  sprang  lightly  into  the  saddle  and  dashed  away  with 
the  bold  rangers. 

"To  the  dark  canyons  of  the  Clay  Mountains!"  shouted 
old  Buckskin,  the  captain  of  the  Rangers.  And  away 
they  flew. 

On,  on,  swiftly,  they  urged  their  panting  steeds. 
All  day  and  until  late  into  the  night  which  had  closed 
around  them  dark  and  threatening.  It  was  almost  im 
possible  to  follow  the  trail  by  the  dim,  flickering  light  of 
their  lanterns;  but,  fortunately,  they  had  reached  the 
mountains  and  had  just  entered  a  deep  and  narrow  de 
file  from  which  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  fugitive 
outlaws  to  escape. 

"Out  with  the  lights,  boys,"  commanded  the  captain; 
"no  need  for  them  now."  And  again  they  urged  their 
jaded  horses  forward. 

For  miles  they  followed  the  deep,  winding  defile.  It 
was  nearly  morning  and  a  slow,  drizzling  rain  had  set 
in;  but  still  the  dauntless  rangers  pressed  onward.  Sud 
denly,  down  the  canyon,  upon  the  beating  wind  and 


228  A   BLOODY    STRUGGLE. 

rain,  was  borne  to  the  quick  and  practiced  senses  of  the 
Ranger  chief,  the  unmistakable  scent  of  smouldering 
fire. 

"Halt!"  came  in  a  low,  cautious  tone  from  the  cap 
tain;  and  in  a  moment  the  men  had  dismounted  and 
scouts  were  sent  out  to  reconnoitre. 

An  hour  passed  and  the  scouts  returned  and  reported 
that  the  outlaw  camp  was  only  about  half  a  mile 
above,  but  was  so  strongly  fortified  by  its  natural  sur 
roundings  that,  unless  they  were  to  surprise  them,  an 
attack  would  be  worse  than  useless. 

"Everything  is  quiet,"  said  an  old  scout,"  an'  we  kin 
surprise  'em." 

"Take  'em  a  napping!"  chimed  in  another. 

"Forward  then,"  commanded  the  old  Ranger;  and  led 
the  way. 

Silently  the  dark  figures,  like  shadows  of  death,  stole 
upon  the  sleeping  robbers'  camp. 

Now,  they  had  reached  the  nearest  house — a  long, 
low,  log-house.  The  men,  drawn  up  in  line,  rushed 
forward  and  began  the  attack. 

Wild  and  awful  was  the  bloody  scene,  lit  up  by  the 
flames  of  the  burning  cabins;  many,  whose  inmates  re 
fused  to  come  out,  were  shot  down  through  the  doors 
and  loop-holes,  or  were  roasted  alive  within. 

The  detective,  with  flaming  torch,  followed  by  a 
dozen  brave,  sturdy  fellows,  charged  upon  a  house  near 
the  centre  of  the  camp,  and  were  met  at  the  door  by 
the  outlaw  chief  himself.  For  a  moment  a  fierce  and 
bloody  struggle  waged;  but  they  were  soon  overpow 
ered. 


RESCUING   THE   GIRL.  22Q 

Seeing  his  men  shot  down  around  him,  the  robber 
chief  turned  and  fled  back  into  the  house.  Quick  as 
thought,  the  detective  divined  his  purpose,  and  darted 
forward  and  entered  the  cabin  before  Taylor  could  reach 
the  room  where  his  prisoner  was  confined. 

"Curse  you!"  cried  the  detective,  as  he  rushed  upon 
the  outlaw  and  struck  him  down  with  a  blow  from  a 
heavy  revolver.  "Ah,  but  you  didn't  do  it,  my  fine 
fellow.  You  thought  to  secure  the  girl  and  then,  by 
threatening  her  life  to  compel  us  to  some  terms;  but  you 
are  a  little  late." 

"Hello  here!  here's  the  devil  himself,"  cried  a  half 
dozen  of  the  rangers  as  they  entered. 

"Whar's  the  gal,  you  bloody  villain?"  cried  old  Buck 
skin,  applying  the  lighted  end  of  his  torch  to  the  out 
law's  nose. 

"In  there, "sputtered  the  villain,  pointing  to  the  door. 
But  the  detective  was  there  already;  and,  forcing  the 
door  open,  he  entered  the  room. 

"Ah,"  exclaimed  Charley,  advancing  toward  the 
frightened  girl.  "Miss  Dean,  I  believe.  We  are 
friends." 

"O  thank  God!"  exclaimed  the  girl.  "O  sir,"  she 
cried,  "tell  me,  where  is  my  father  and  brother!" 

"Poor  girl!"  said  the  detective,  as  he  looked  away  to 
shut  out  from  his  sight  that  look  of  despair.  "Poor 
girl!  your  father  and  brother  is  dead." 

"O  God!"  wailed  the  girl. 

"Cheer  up,"  said  Charley,   "you  have  friends." 

"I  have  a  brother  at  the  new  mines,  where  we  were 
going,"  moaned  the  girl;  "but  I  don't  know  how  to  get 
there." 


230  ON  THE  HOMEWARD  MARCH. 

'  'Don't  worry  yourself,  my  little  friend,  you  will  be 
provided  for,"  answered  Charley  kindly. 

"Whar's  the  kid?"  queried  old  Buckskin,  entering  the 
room;  "is  she  all  right?  "Ah,"  he  exclaimed  as  he 
caught  sight  of  her,  "Little  girl,  you  are  all  right,  I 
guess." 

"The  work  is  done,"  declared  another,  and  the  men 
returned  to  the  .house,  after  having  burned  all  the 
others.  A  few  escaped,  but  not  more  than  a  half  dozen. 

"How  many  boys  have  we  lost?"  asked  old  Buckskin. 

"Six,"  was  the  reply. 

"Ah,  well,"  he  said,"  such  is  the  lot  of  the  Ranger." 

Early  in  the  morning,  the  dead  Rangers  were  buried, 
and  then  the  march  homeward  was  begun .  The  pro 
gress  was  necessarily  very  slow  on  account  of  the 
wounded  Rangers. 

The  next  day,  they  were  compelled  to  stop  on  ac 
count  of  the  death  of  one  of  the  boys.  Here  they 
stopped  for  a  couple  of  days,  waiting  for  teams  which 
they  had  sent  for  to  convey  the  wounded  to  the  nearest 
settlement,  where  they  could  be  cared  for.  Here  also,  a 
team  was  hired  to  convey  the  rescued  girl  back  to  Gal- 
latin. 

Again,  as  all  were  provided  for  as  best  it  could  be 
under  the  circumstances,  they  set  out,  in  the  morning  of 
the  fifth  day  since  they  started  out  on  their  errand  of 
vengeance,  on  their  homeward  march. 

Anxious  to  reach  home,  they  concluded  to  stop  for  a 
few  hours  in  the  evening,  and  then  again  to  resume  the 
journey. 

"We  will  get  home  about  daylight  I  think,"  said  the 


NEW    ARRIVALS.  231 

detective,  riding  up  beside  the  carriage  in  which  the  girl 
was  riding. 

"It  is  ten  minutes  past  three  now,"  she  said. 

"It's  only  about  six  miles  farther,"  he  said.  "We 
will  reach  there  in  an  hour  and  a  half.  We  will  be 
there  in  time  for  breakfast  all  right  enough." 

"Isn't  that  a  carriage  a  coming  over  the  hill  there?" 
inquired  the  girl. 

"Yes.  Some  one  is  out  late.  Some  young  fellows,  I 
presume,  returning  from  a  trip  to  town,"  replied  the 
detective,  as  he  rode  on  to  where  a  group  of  rangers 
were  discussing  the  new  arrivals. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


KIDNAPPED. 

"Now  then,"  exclaimed  Kingsbury,  as  he  saw  the 
Rangers  ride  away  in  pursuit  of  the  outlaws,  "we  must 
act  and  at  once." 

"But  how  shall  we  act?"  asked  Dumars. 

"We  must  devise  some  plan  to  kidnap  Zell,"  replied 
Kingsbury.  "You  must  lure  her  away  somehow — 

"I  can  never  do  it,  Jim,"  he  replied.  "Since  Lucy's 
death,  Zell—" 

"Don't  mention  that  again,  curse  you!"  cried  Kings- 
bury. 

"Well,  I  can't  do  anything  with  her — ah,  I  have  a 
plan,"  he  said,  as  a  new  idea  struck  him.  "Kitty  loves 
dancing  better  than  anything  else  on  earth.  Let's  get 
up  a  grand  masquerade  ball,  they  will  be  sure  to  go. 
Nothing  short  of  death  could  keep  Kitty  away  from  a 
ball.  If  she  goes — and  she  will — Zell  will  go  too." 

"Good!"  exclaimed  Jim.  "Go  ahead  with  the 
arrangements  and  I  will  furnish  the  funds." 

All  arrangements  were  made  and  the  grand  ball  an 
nounced.  Three  days  had  passed  and  the  evening  of 
the  grand  masquerade  ball  had  rolled  around.  All  Gal- 
latin's  fair  belles  and  gallant  beaus  were  in  ecstacies  over 
the  prospect  of  the  grandest  turnout  of  the  season. 

"  Oh  Zell,"  exclaimed  Kitty,   "won't  it  be  jolly?" 

(232) 


ZELL  AT  THE  MASK  BALL. 


KITTY    AND    ZELL.  233 

"Not  for  me.  Kitty."  answered  Zell,  doubtfully;  "I 
don't  want  to  go." 

"Oh,  but  you  will  Zell,  dear,  won't  you?"  cried  Kitty. 
"I  have  got  everything  arranged.  I  will  go  as  a  Scotch 
lassie,  Frank  will  be  a  Paddy  and  you  as  a  little 
Quakeress." 

"But  I  don't  believe  that  I—" 

"Oh  Zell,"  pleaded  Kitty,  "I  am  just  dying  to  go.  Do 
go  Zell;  please  do,  that's  a  darling!"  .coaxed  Kitty, 
throwing  her  arms  around  her  cousin  and  nearly  smoth 
ering  her  with  kisses. 

"Well,  I  suppose  I  will  have  to  go,  but  I— 

"O  goody,  goody!"  cried  Kitty,  spinning  about  the 
room  in  glee . 

"O  Kitty!  won't  you  ever  get  over  such  foolish,  wild 
fancies?  You  are  a  married  woman  now,  and  you  ought 
to  begin  to  quiet  down  a  little,"  remonstrated  Zell. 

"Nonsense,  Zell;  just  you  wait  until  you  and  Charley 
are  married,  then  you  will  know  something  about  it!'' 
laughed  Kitty. 

"I  may  have  to  remain  a  longtime  in  ignorance,  if 
I  have  to  wait  for  that,"  replied  Zell. 

"Pooh!  Fiddlesticks!  Think  you  hat  1  have  eyes, 
and  can't  see?  Ears,  and  can't  hear?" 

"You  see  and  hear  more  than  I  do,  if  you  have  seen 
or  heard  anything  of  that  kind!"  exclaimed  Zell. 

"One,  Zell!  Charley  loves  you  desperately;  you  know 
he  does .  It's  your  own  fault  if  he  hasn't  confessed 
yet." 

"I  don't  know  that  it  is;  I  am  sure  that  I  have  not 
hindered  him .  I  know  that  he  loves  me,  but — " 


234  "YES,     I    LOVE    HIM." 

"But  nothing,  Zell,  dear!  he  loves  you  and  you  love 
him ." 

"Yes,  I  love  him — " 

"Heigho!  talking  of  love,  are  you  my  dearies?"  cried 
Frank,  popping  unexpectedly  into  the  room.  Guilty, 
guilty!"  he  laughed,  seizing  Zell's  hand  and  looking 
down  into  her  blushing  face.  "Ah,  well,  it's  all  right 
Zell!  No  one  has  a  better  right  to  love  or  be  loved,  nor 
is  any  one  more  or  better  loved  than  you  are." 

"Come,  let  me  go!"  cried  the  blushing  girl,  "It's  time 
to  dress  for  the  ball;"  and'  freeing  herself  from  her  tor 
mentors,  she  fled  to  her  own  room . 

Down  through  the  long  hall,  whirling  and  gliding, 
through  the  bewildering  and  intricate  mazes  of  the 
Blue  Danube  Waltzes,  merrily  glided  the  belles  and 
beaus  of  Gallatin .  It  was  a  joyous,  happy  throng. 
All — ah,  no,  not  all;  for  there  were  two  of  that  merry 
throng  who  were  neither  merry  nor  bent  upon  making 
merry.  With  this  exception,  all  were  bent  upon  having 
a  merry  time . 

"Well,  Damars,  what  success  now?  Have  you  found 
out  whether  Zell  is  here  or  not?"  asked  Kingsbury,  im 
patiently. 

"Yes,  she  is  here  all  right  enough,  but  I  haven't  found 
her  out  yet .  I  have  settled  upon  Frank  and  Kitty — 

"Hang    Frank    and    Kitty!"    interrupted     Kingsbury. 

"It's  Zell  that  we  want  to  find." 

"Ah,  yes,  of  course;  but  in  finding  them  we  have 
gained  much  toward  finding  Zell.  Watch  them  closely; 
the  three  will  know  each  other,  and  will  be  together  be 
fore  very  long,"  said  Dumars. 


"KEEP    YOUR    EYE    ON    HER."  235 

"Where  are  they?"  asked  Kingsbury. 

"See,  just  over  there,"  and  he  pointed  out  the  pair. 

"Ah,  the  lass  and  the  Paddy!" 

"Yes.  And  do  you  see  that  little  Quakeress?  Keep 
your  eye  on  her.  I  have  seen  her  with  them  once;  she 
is  approaching  them  now.  I  believe  that  that  little 
Quaker  maid  is  Zell,  said  Dumars. 

"Keep  your  eye  on  her,"  whispered  Kingsbury,  in  a 
suppressed  tone  of  excitement.  "I  will  go  and  engage 
her  for  a  dance.  Under  the  influence  of  music,  a  little 
wine  and  a  skillfully  administered  drug,  it  will  be  a  very 
easy  matter  to  lure  her  away, "  he  said  in  a  low  tone.  '  'So, 
watch  and  be  ready.  If  you  see  us  leave  the  room,  fol 
low  immediately  and  help  me  get  her  to  the  carriage." 

Approaching  the  sedate  little  Quakeress,  Kingsbury, 
who  was  dressed  to  represent  a  dude,  addressed  the  little 
Quakeress  with — 

"Ah,  my  dear  friend,  may  I — ah,  have  the  honor  of 
your  company  for  this — ah — exquisitely  beautiful  waltz?" 
he  asked,  as  he  courtesied  in  his  most  dudeish  manner  to 
the  prim,  little  Quaker. 

"Thank  thee,  lad,"  replied  the  shy  little  maid  accept 
ing  his  invitation;  and  away  they  went,  mingling  with 
the  merry  throng  of  dancers. 

"Oh,  how  delightful,"  murmured  Zell.  "But  I  don't 
like  him  to  hold  me  so  close;  but,  then,  they  all  do  it. 
Oh,  if  it  were  only  Charley,  now,  I  would  be  so 
happy." 

"Ah,  my  dear  little  lady,"  whispered  the  dude,  "you 
are  wearied.  Come,  a  little  refreshment  will  restore 


236  "IT   IS    A   SIN." 

you.  Waitah,  a  champaigne  heah,  if  you  please! "called 
the  dude  as  he  led  his  companion  to  a  little  table. 

"Ah,  how  delicious!"  he  exclaimed,  holding  the  spark- 
wine  aloof,  "let  me  fill  your  glass." 

"No,  thank  thee;  I  do  not  drink  wine,"  replied  the 
little  Quakeress. 

"Ah,  but  you  will  take  a  little,"  persisted  the  dude,  as 
he  filled  a  glass.  "It  will  add  lustre  to  those  sparkling 
eyes,  it  will — ah,  paint  roses  on  upon  those  hidden 
cheeks.  Just  a  little,  my  sweet  friend." 

"Oh,  thou  flatterer!"  exclaimed  the  little  Quakeress, 
just  kissing  the  red  wine  with  her  still  redder  lips. 

"Drink,  drink!"  eagerly  urged  the  dude.  "It  will  give 
you  new  life,  new  joy,  new  and  greater  pleasure!"  he 
said. 

"Oh,"  he  thought,  "if  I  could  only  compel  her  to 
drink  it!  Drink,  drink,"  he  urged  again,"  just  this  one 
little  glass. 

"Nay,  nay,"  my  friend;  tempt  me  not  so;  it's  a  sin!' 
she  demurred. 

"A  sin!  Ah,  but  I  am  acquainted  with  the  gentleman. 
Let  me  bring  you  a  cream,"  he  said,  rising  to  go  for  it." 

"Now,"  he  mused,  returning  with  the  ice  cream,  "now 
is  my  time;  yes,  I  will  flavor  this  to  suit  the  occasion. 
This  flavoring  is  my  especial  favorite,"  he  said;  "try  it 
my  deah  lady." 

"What  a  peculiar  flavor!"  she  exclaimed,  as  she  daint 
ily  ate  the  cream.  "Indeed,  this  has  a  peculiar  taste." 

"Don't  you  like  it?"  he  murmurred;  and  there  was  a 
gleam  of  triumph  in  his  wicked  eyes. 

"No,    I — I   don't   believe  that  I— do,"  she  stammered; 


SHE    KNEW    NO    MORE.  ?-37 

for,  already,  the  stupifying  effects  of  the  drug  had  begun 
to  affect  her. 

"What  a  delightful  evening!"  exclaimed  the  dude,  "let 
us  go  out  upon  the  veranda  for  a  moment  and  get  a 
breath  of  fresh  air.  You  feel  uncomfortable;  it  is  rather 
too  close  in  here." 

Dizzy  and  confused,  she,  almost  unconscious  of  the 
act,  allowed  him  to  lead  her  out.  Out  upon  the  ver- 
randa,  she  felt  the  cool  evening  breeze  upon  her  hot 
cheek  and  then,  she  knew  no  more . 

Hardly  had  they  reached  the  open  air,  wren  Dumars 
appeared  and,  together,  they  hurried  the  unconscious 
girl  to  the  carriage  which  they  had  in  waiting.  Kings- 
bury  entered  the  carriage  with  his  victim,  while  Dumars 
mounted  in  front  and  drove  swiftly  away . 

"Zell!  Zell!  Oh,  where  is  Zell?"  cried  Kitty,  rushing 
wildly  into  the  dinning-room  where  the  guests  were 
already  unmasking  for  supper. 

In  a  few  minutes,  intense  excitement  prevailed. 
Search  as  they  would,  everywhere,  no  trace  of  the  miss 
ing  girl  could  be  found.  Wild  with  terror,  Kitty  rushed 
franticly  about  crying  and  sobbing  hysterically. 

There  was  no  more  dancing  that  night,  and  many  left 
their  supper  untouched.  But  all  effort  to  find  a  clue 
was  without  avail.  No  trace  could  be  found. 

"Another  kidnapping  within  a  week!"  was  the  cry  of 
the  excited  and  infuriated  citizens. 

All  the  rest  of  that  awful  night,  poor  Kitty  walked  the 
floor  of  her  room,  moaning  and  sobbing  in  her  grief, 
while  out  upon  the  streets  crowds  of  armed  and  excited 
men  gathered  about  and  vainly  striving  to  solve  the 
mystery  of  the  girl's  disappearance. 


238          .  AFTER    THEM. 

It  was  nearly  daylight,  when  a  man  came  up  to  the 
crowd  that  had  gathered  in  front  of  the  hotel  and  re 
ported  that  a  carriage  had  been  seen  going  out  of  town 
toward  the  west. 

"After  them!"  cried  a  score  of  voices. 

"Hold,  here  comes  the  Rangers!"  cried  some  one; 
"Let's  hear  what  they  say." 


A  LUCKY  SHOT. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


THE    RANGERS     RETURN. 

"By  thunder,  ejaculated  old  Buckskin,  as  the  detect 
ive  rode  up,  "them  air  fellers  peer  ter  want  to  'voide  us, 
eh;  suth'n'  's  up,  boys,  let's  'vestigate!" 

"Give  chase,"  cried  another,  as  the  driver,  after  hesi 
tating  a  moment,  turned  to  the  right  and  drove  rapidly 
away,  as  if  anxious  to  avoid  the  Rangers;  "run 'em 
down!" 

The  detective  and  six  others,  putting  spurs  to  their 
horses,  dashed  away  in  pursuit  and  were  fast  gaining  up 
on  the  fleeing  vehicle. 

Not  far  ahead  was  a  little  stream  skirted  by  a  dense 
growth  of  willows  and  small  trees,  while  just  beyond 
was  a  heavy  belt  of  timber.  Just  as  the  fugitive  ve 
hicle  reached  the  brook,  the  driver  was  seen  to  spring 
from  his  post  and  disappear  into  the  dark  shades  of  the 
willows. 

"Shoot  'em!"  cried  old  Buckskin,  discharging  his  re 
volver  at  the  place  where  the  man  had  disappeared.  A 
dozen  shots  were  fired,  but  so  quick  had  been  the  man's 
flight,  that  he  had  made  good  his  escape. 

The  fleeing  horses,  given  their  own  head  and  fright 
ened  by  the  report  of  firearms,  dashed  away  in  their  mad 
fury  down  a  steep  incline  toward  the  river. 

On,  on,  speed  the  frightened  horses.  Now  the  pur- 
(239) 


24O  A    LUCKY   SHOT. 

suers  could  see  a  man  in  the  carriage  vainly  striving  to 
reach  the  reins. 

On,  on.  An  hundred  yards  further,  and  they  will 
reach  the  high  bluff  by  the  river  over  which  they  must, 
unless  checked,  be  hurled  upon  the  rocks  below. 

"Ah,  steady  there,  steady!"  cautioned  old  Buckskin, 
as  he  saw  the  detective  rise  slowly  in  his  stirrups  and 
bring  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder.  "Steady  now,  steady!" 

One  quick  glance  along  the  shining  barrel  and  then,  a 
puff  of  smoke,  the  red  fire  leapt  from  the  deadly  tube, 
and  one  of  the  horses  crouching  and  quivering,  staggered 
and  fell  almost  upon  the  very  brink  of  the  bluff. 

A  crash,  a  scream,  and,  from  the  confused  mass  of 
carriage  and  horses,  a  man  was  seen  to  spring  and 
quickly  disappear  over  the  bluff  into  the  river. 

As  the  carriage  went  down  the  scream  of  a  woman 
was  heard;  and,  in  an  instant  the  Rangers  had  gathered 
around  and  dragged  the  half  unconscious  form  of  a 
woman  from  its  ruins. 

"For  God  sake,  Zell,  what  does  this  mean?"  cried  the 
detective,  raising  the  frightened  girl  to  her  feet. 

"O  Charley,  don't  ask  me  now!  I  don't  know  how  it 
happened.  The  last  I  can  remember,  I  was  at  a  ball.  I 
ate  ice  cream  with  some  one.  I  don't  know  what  hap 
pened  after  that  till  I  heard  a  terrible  crash  and  then — 
but  you  know  the  rest,"  murmured  Zell  with  a  beseech 
ing  smile  as  she  looked  up  into  his  honest  gray  eyes. 

The  boys,  at  the  cross  roads  were  watching  the  excit 
ing  race;  and  now,  as  they  saw  the  victors  returning, 
they  sent  up  a  shout  that  made  the  woods  and  hills  re 
sound  with  their  glad  shout  of  triumph. 


A   HAPPY   ENDING.  24! 

"Miss  Jessie  Dean,"  said  the  detective  as  he  returned, 
bringing  the  rescued  girl  to  the  carriage,  "let  me  intro 
duce  you  to  my  little  friend  Zell.  "You  will  remember 
each  other." 

"Oh,  I  am  so  delighted  to  meet  you  again,  Miss  Zell." 
cried  the  girl  joyously."  "O  Zell!  your  friend  tells  me 
that  father  and  Willie  were  killed  when  the  stage  was 
attacked,"  and  she  burst  into  tears. 

At  sight  of  the  poor  girl's  grief,  Zell  remembered  her 
own  father  who  had  been  so  cruelly  murdered  in  the 
dark  forest.  Thus,  locked  in  each  other's  arms,  they  sat 
in  the  carriage  as  the  now,  doubly  victorious  rangers, 
again  took  up  their  homeward  march. 

A  little  before  daybreak,  the  rangers  reached  the  town, 
and,  as  they  rode  up,  were  greeted  by  wild  shouts  of  tri 
umph;  for  already  the  excited  gathering  could  see  the 
rescued  girl.  Wild  and  loud  was  the  shout  of  greeting 
that  went  out  from  the  throats  of  that  motley  crowd. 

"O  Charley!"  cried  Kitty,  after  the  first  excitement 
over  the  rescued  one's  return  had  subsided  a  little.  "I 
want  to  confess:  It  was  all  my  fault.  I  persuaded  Zell 
to  go  to  the  masquerade.  Forgive  me,  Charley;  Oh, 
forgive  me;  I  will  never  do  it  again!" 

The  story  of  the  pursuit  and  the  battle  in  the  dark 
canyons  was  soon  told,  as  well  as  Jessie's  story  of  cap 
tivity. 

"Then  you  will  go  with  me,  Jessie,  and  be  my  sister," 
declared  the  generous-hearted  Zell. 

"Oh,  I  would  be  so  glad  to  go  with  you,"  said  the 
unfortunate  girl;  "I  will  love  you  as  only  a  sister  can 
love." 

"Thus  it  was  arranged;  and  now,  our  company  of 
friends  increased  to  five,  waited  for  the  morrow  to  re 
sume  their  journey. 


CHAPTER  XL. 


JEALOUSY. 

The  journey  to  the  mines  was  accomplished.  And 
eventful  and  pleasant,  indeed,  had  been  the  trip;  and 
many  were  the  happy  days  spent  by  the  young  people. 
One,  and  only  thing,  can  be  mentioned  as,  in  any  way, 
tending  to  mar  the  pleasure  and  happiness  of  any  one — 
that  one  was  the  brave,  noble  little  Zell. 

Jessie,  after  the  first  sharp  pangs  of  grief  for  the  loss 
of  her  father  and  brother  had  subsided,  became  her  old 
self  again, — a  jolly,  light-hearted,  rollicking  girl;  who 
devoted  herself  with  all  the  energy  of  a  generous,  loving 
heart  to  the  entertainment  of  her  new  found  friends. 

Through  Zell's  heart,  Jessie's  warm  affection  and 
outspoken  devotion  to  the  detective  for  the  inestimable 
service  which  he  rendered  her,  sent  a  pang  of  jealousy. 
In  vain  did  she  try  to  convince  herself  that  there  was  no 
cause  for  jealousy;  but  through  all  that  long  journey, 
the  thought  that  the  one  whom  she  so  dearly  loved,  to 
whom  she  had -given  her  whole  heart,  was  loved  by 
another. 

Four  months  had  passed  and  life  at  the  mines  had 
been  both  pleasant  and  profitable  to  all,  or  at  least  to 
all  save  two — Charley  and  Zell. 

Gradually  and  unaccountably,  an  unnamable  some 
thing  had  sprung  up  between  the  lovers — a  something 

(242) 


JESSIE. 


JEALOUSY   AND    DISTRUST.  243 

that  neither  could  see  nor  understand,  nor  how  or  why, 
neither  could  tell.  But  the  demon,  jealousy,  had  planted 
the  seed  and  it  had  sprung  up  and  grew  till,  at  last,  they 
came  to  look  upon  one  another  with  distrust — or  at  least 
they  thought  that  they  distrusted  one  another. 

"O  Kitty,"  cried  Zell,  "I  could  die,  I  am  so  misera 
ble!" 

"Zell,"  said  Kitty,  '  'there's  something  wrong  here. 
Charley  loves  you  as  dearly  as  any  man  can  love.  Why 
do  you  distrust  him,  Zell,  why  are  you  jealous  of  him?" 

"I  have  no  right  to  complain — I  have  no  right  to  be 
jealous — Jessie  has  as  much  right  to  him  as  I,  and  I  will 
not  come  between  them!  I  love  them  both  and  will  do 
all  I  can  to  make  them  happy!" 

"But  Zell,  Charley  doesn't  love  her  as  he  loves  you — " 

"He  loves  me  as  a  sister,  that's  all!"  interrupted  Zell. 
"If  he  wanted  to  marry  me,  he  would  tell  me  so,"  and 
she  tried  to  look  indifferent. 

"Zell,"  said  Kitty,  "I  think  it  is  your  fault,  you  are 
jealous  and  he  knows  it;  but  I  don't  think  that  Jessie 
knows  anything  about  it.  She  is  going  with  your  brother 
Fred  and  I  think  that  she  is  satisfied  with  him." 

"O  Kitty,  don't  lay  all  the  blame  to  me!  He  loves  me 
as  a  sister,  no  more,"  wailed  the  miserable  girl.  "Oh,  I 
will  go  to  him  and  I  will  tell  him,  and  then,  if  I  am 
wrong,  I  will  beg  his  forgiveness!" 

"Do,  Zell,  do,  that's  a  good  girl!"  said  Kitty.  "Go 
to  him,  Zell,  and^  confess  just  as  we  used  to  do.  Go 
now,  dear,  while  you  have  the  courage.  He  is  at  home." 

Zell  turned  and  sought  Charley  who  had  just  entered 
the  home.  He  had  been  away  for  several  weeks  and 


244  AN    INTERVIEW. 

had  returned  only  the  day  before.  He  was  sitting  with 
his  face  buried  in  his  hands,  his  elbows  resting  upon  his 
knees  and  absorbed  in  thought.  He  was  wondering 
over  the  strangeness  that  had  sprung  up  between  him 
and  the  girl  that  he  loved  so  dearly  and  wondered  how 
it  all  came  about. 

"Oh,"  he  mused,  "I  will  know,  I  will  make  her  con 
fess,  I  can't  believe  that  she  is  jelaous  of  me,  I  know  I 
liked  Jessie  and — ah,  perhaps  I  didn't  do  just  right,  per 
haps  I  ought  to  have  confessed  my  love  and  asked  her 
to  marry  me.  I  was  going  to  ask  her  that  night  up  on  the 
river  when  we  found  poor  Lucy.  But  I  have  no  excuse 
for  not  telling  her  long  before  this." 

"Charley,"  said  Zell  cutting  short  his  meditations, 
"are  you  very  busy,  can  you  spare  me  a  few  minutes? 
I  want  to  talk  with  you." 

"Certainly,  Zell;  lean  spare  you  all  the  time  that  you 
want,  whether  it  be  minutes  or  hours.  But  what  is  it, 
Zell?"  he  asked  as  he  noticed  her  pale,  troubled  face. 

"Not  here,  Charley,"  she  said,  "come  with  me." 

"All  right,"  he  said  and  offering  her  his  arm,  they 
walked  together  down  toward  the  little  brook. 

"Zell,"  said  Charley,  "I  got  a  letter  to-day  from 
Helena.  Kingsbury  and  Dumars  have  been  there  all 
the  fall,  I  think,  but  they  have  left  and  I  must  go  back 
there  and  see  if  I  can  trace  them  up  again.  I  traced 
them  there  and  located  them  about  a  week  ago.  They 
got  wind  of  it  somehow  and  have  lit  out  again;  and  now 
I  have  this  work  to  do  all  over  again." 

"Oh,  I  don't  care,"  cried  Zell,  "let  him  go — " 

"Zell,"  interrupted  Charley,  "what  do  you  mean — 
what  does  all  of  this  mean?"  he  asked  as  they  paused 


THAT  GREEN-EYED  MONSTER.  245 

beneath  the  wide,  spreading  branches  of  the  old  oak  tree 
which  served  so  many  times  before  as  a  tristing  place. 
"Tell  me,  Zell,"  he  demanded,  in  a  low,  passionate 
tone,  "tell  me  who  has  come  between  you  and  me!"  I 
have  a  right  to  know — I  must,  I  will  know!" 

"Know,  then,"  she  cried,  "it  is  Jessie  Dean,"  and 
with  a  haughty,  defiant  toss  of  her  head,  she  turned  and 
walked  away. 

"O  Zell!"  came  in  a  passionate,  pleading  tone. 

Something  in  that  pleading  tone  caused  her  to  pause, 
but  only  for  a  moment.  A  strange  and  almost  un- 
controlable  desire  to  turn  back  came  over  her,  but  the 
demon,  jealousy,  urged  her  on;  and,  with  heart  almost 
bursting  with  grief,  she  walked  on  toward  home. 

"O  that  I  had  turned  back!"  she  moaned.  "I  know 
that  he  would  have  forgiven  me.  O  God,  forgive  me 
if  I  have  wronged  him!"  Back  to  her  own  room  she 
hurried,  and  throwing  herself  upon  her  bed,  she  gave  up 
to  her  grief. 

"Zell,  Zell,"  cried  Kitty  entering  her  room,  "what 
have  you  done?" 

"O  Kitty,  I  don't  know,  I — I — " 

"Quarrelled  with  Charley!"  interrupted  Kitty.  "Oh, 
how  could  you  do  it,  Zell,  how  could  you?" 

"I  don't  know,"  moaned  Zell,   "I  left  him." 

"No,  no,  Zell.      O  don't  tell  me  it  is  so  bad  as  that!" 

"Go  away,  Kitty;  leave  me  alone!"  sobbed  Zell.  "It 
is  all  over  now,  he  will  never  forgive  me — O  that  I 
could  die!" 

"Leave  them  alone,  Kitty,"  said  Frank,  when  his 
wife  had  told  of  the  lovers.  "It's  only  a  lovers  quarrel; 
it  will  blow  over  in  a  little  while;  it  will  do  them  good." 


246  TRYING   TO    RIGHT   THINGS. 

But  little  did  they  dream  what  the  result  of  that 
quarrel  would  be.  Zell  had  determined  to  go  away; 
and,  when  she  had  told  Kitty  of  her  determination,  she 
added — 

"I  will  go  up  to  Ruby  Gulch  ?.nd  visit  Estella  La- 
morie.  She  has  been  wanting  me  to  come  and  visit  her 
ever  since  they  moved  up  there.  Don't  object,  Kitty;  1 
think  that  I  had  better  go  away  for  a  while,  at  least." 

So  it  was  arranged.  Young  Lamorie  and  his  sister, 
Estella,  came  down  after  her,  and  soon,  she  was  ready 
to  go. 

"I  would  like  to  see  Charley  before  I  go,"  said  Zell. 
"I  don't  think  that  he  would  object,  but  I  would  like  to 
have  his  consent." 

"He  has  gone,"  said  Kitty,  "he  went  to  Helena 
yesterday." 

Jessie  came  over  to  see  her  friend  off,  little  dreaming 
that  she  was  the  cause  of  her  going. 

"Oh,  if  I  had  only  known,"  moaned  Jessie,  when, 
nearly  two  months  after  Zell  had  gone,  she  pursuaded 
Kitty  to  tell  her  why  Zell  had  gone  away,  "if  I  had  only 
known,  this  need  not  to  have  happened!"  And  burying 
her  face  in  her  hands  she  burst  into  tears.  "To  think 
she  sobbed,  "that  I  was  the  cause  of  all  this  trouble  and 
I  knew  nothing  about  it.  Oh,  it  is  too  bad!" 

"Don't  cry,  Jessie,"  said  Kitty,  "you  are  not  to 
blame." 

"But  I  have  been  the  cause  of  it,  and  I  will  never 
rest  till  I  have  made  an  effort  to  wright  the  wrong  that 
has  been  done!  Where  is  Charley?" 

"He  is  at  Helena,"  replied  Kitty. 


WRITING    A    LETTER.  247 

"Then  I  will  write  to  him,"  said  Jessie,  rising  to  go 
home. 

Returning  home,  she  wrote  a  letter  to  the  detective, 
and  in  concluding  her  letter  she  said— 

"O  Charley,  you  have  wronged  Zell,  you  have 
wronged  me  and  you  have  wronged  yourself  in  keep 
ing  this  from  me!  If  I  had  known,  this  would  never 
have  happened.  Charley,  if  you  love  Zell,  you  will 
come  home  and  go  atter  her.  Oh,  if  you  only  knew, 
what  she  must  have  suffered — for  she  loves  you, 
Charley,  as  only  a  pure  noble  hearted  girl  can  love,  you 
would  come  home  and  go  after  her. 


CHAPTER    XLI. 


DEEPER    IN     THE    PLOT. 

Ever  since  Zell  had  come  to  Ruby  Gulch,  she  had 
been  a  prey  to  apprehension  and  fear.  For,  almost  the 
first  man  whom  she  had  met  was  Albert  Dumars. 
Though  she  knew  nothing  of  his  connection  with  the  kid 
napping  at  Gallatin,  she  knew,  from  what  the  detective 
had  told  her,  that  he  was  in  league  with  Kingsbury. 

"Can  it  be  possible,"  she  asked  herself,  "that  Kings- 
bury  is  following  me?" 

Nearly  two  months  had  passed,  still  nothing  had  hap 
pened  to  alarm  her.  Gradually,  she  had  given  up  her 
seclusion  and  began  to  go  out  a  little  more. 

One  of  her  favorite  pastimes  was  boating.  Situated 
as  the  town  was  upon  the  shore  of  a  beautiful  little  lake, 
she  had  the  best  facilities  for  enjoying  this  enchanting 
luxury.  Along  toward  evening  of  nearly  every  fair  day, 
she  would  take  her  little  boat  and  row  out  into  the  lake, 
and  nearly  always  alone. 

This  fact  was  seen  and  noted  by  two  men  who  were 
stopping  at  Ruby  Gulch.  These  two  men — Dumars  and 
Kingsbury — had  noted,  with  a  degree  of  triumphant  sat 
isfaction,  impossible  to  describe,  the  fact  that  Zell  nearly 
always  went  alone. 

Kingsbury  came  to  Ruby  Gulch  only  occasionally  and 
stayed  but  a  few  days  at  most  at  a  time.  He  made  his 
home  at  a  place  called  the  Fishers,  situated  on  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  lake. 

(248) 


O!  LET  ME  DIE." 


LAYING    HIS    PLANS.  249 

About  this  time,  he  had  come  over  fully  determined  to 
wait  no  longer,  but  to  immediately  carry  out  the  plans 
which  he  had  arranged  for  kidnapping  the  girl.  This 
was  nearly  two  months  after  Zell's  arrival  at  Ruby. 
There  was  only  one  thing  that  bothered  him  and  that 
was  that  neither  he  nor  Jim  could  fathom  the  mystery  or 
object  of  Zell's  coming  to  Ruby  Gulch.  Whether  it  was 
some  plan  of  the  wily  detective — a  bait  to  lure  them  into 
a  trap,  they  could  not  even  surmise. 

"I  don't  like  that  mean  business!"  declared  Dumars,  as 
Jim  had  declared  his  intention. 

"But  I  have  waited  just  as  long  as  I  can.  Nearly  two 
months,  and  nothing  done  yet,"  said  Jim. 

"Ah,  well,  it  will  not  be  much  longer  that  you  will 
have  to  wait;  the  plum  is  ripe,  and  this  is  my  plan  for 
picking  it:  Nearly  every  evening,  Zell  is  in  the  habit  of 
going  out  boating;  she  nearly  always  goes  alone.  Now, 
get  a  boat — Jack  and  Fred  will  go  with  you — and  watch 
for  her.  I  will  get  a  boat  and,  disguised  as  the  detec 
tive,  will  wait  and  watch  too.  Get  in  a  convenient  place 
and  wait  till  she  is  out  far  enough  to  make  it  safe,  then 
run  her  down  and  carry  her  off — " 

"But  why  need  we  have  two  boats?"  interrupted  Jim. 

"I  am  coming  to  that — I  will  wait,  and  when  you 
capture  her,  I  will  come  to  the  rescue — do  you  catch  on? 
Overhauling  you  after  we  reach  a  safe  point  out  of  sight 
of  town,  we  will  fight  a  sham  battle;  you  will  capture 
me  and  hold  me  a  prisoner.  The  girl  will  think  that  I 
am  the  detective.  She  will  marry  you  to  save  her  life — 
do  you  catch  on?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Kingsbury,  "and  I  will  go  over  to  the 
Fishers  and  arrange  everything,  so  that  we  can  be  mar- 


25O  JUST    ONE    MORE    RIDE. 

ried  within  an  hour  after  arriving  there.  It's  a  safe 
place,  and  I  can  arrange  it  all  right.  There's  but  one 
thing  that  might  give  us  trouble,  but  we  can  arrange  it 
all  right;  and  that  is  her  answer,  when  asked  by  the 
Justice  if  she  will  take  me  for  her  husband — " 

"Ah,  that  is  easy,"  interruped  Dumars.  "I  will  see 
that  no  one  hears  her  answer."  So  it  was  arranged;  and 
two  days  later  Jim  returned  from  the  Fishers  and 
announced  that  all  was  ready. 

"Now,  Jim,  a  word  for  myself.      I  am  out  of  funds — " 

"All  right,"  interrupted  Jim,  "here's  a  hundred  dollars 
— I  will  pay  you  the  rest  just  as  soon  as  the  ceremony  is 
performed.  Don't  drink  anything  till  we  are  through 
with  this  job.  I  want  your  head  to  be  clear." 

"All  right,  I  will  wait." 

Thus  arranged,  the  two  plotters  awaited  a  favorable 
opportunity,  an  opportunity  which  soon  arrived. 

Now,  leaving  them,  we  will  return  to  the  unfortunate 
girl  and  see  what  she  is  doing.  Ah,  there  she  is,  stand 
ing  upon  the  front  porch,  watching  the  setting  sun. 

"Oh,  what  a  lovely  evening,"  she  murmured.  "The 
setting  sun  paints  such  lovely,  golden-tinted  shadows 
upon  the  lake.  I  believe  I  will  run  down  just  for  a  little 
while  to  bid  good-bye,  for  I  will  go  home  to-morrow." 

Gliding  quickly  down  to  the  shore,  she  stepped  into 
the  little  boat  and  was  soon  dancing  merrily  upon  the 
sparkling  waters. 

"Just  one  more  ride,"  she  murmured;  "and  then, 
good-bye;  for  I  go  home  to-morrow.  Yes,  I  will  return, 
I  will  go  back  to  him — to  my  lover,  and  ask  his  forgive 
ness — ask  him  to  take  me  back  to  his  heart  again.  Oh, 


KIDNAPPED.  251 

Charley^  my  darling,  my  darling!"  and  burying  her  face 
in  her  hands,  she  sat  in  silence  thinking  of  things  which 
are  too  sacred  for  other  ears  than  the  chosen  ones  to 
hear. 

Presently,  she  was  aroused  from  her  reverie  by  the 
swift  approach  of  a  small  sail-boat,  which  was  heading 
directly  toward  her  and  was  already  within  a  few  yards 
of  her.  Almost  before  she  had  time  to  realize  what  had 
happened,  she  found  herself  in  the  strange  boat  and 
speeding  swiftly  out  into  the  lake. 

Confused,  bewildered  and  frightened,  she  sat  in  utter 
despair.  Before  her,  gloating  in  his  triumph,  stood 
Kingsbury.  But  another  object  had  now  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  boatmen;  and,  with  well  feigned  anxiety 
and  fear,  they  watched  the  approaching  boat,  declaring 
that  the  solitary  boatman  was  none  other  than  the  hated 
detective. 

Oh,  how  wildly  did  the  despairing  heart  of  the  poor 
captive  throb  within  her  bosom,  as  she  recognized,  as 
she  supposed,  the  well  known  and  dearly  beloved 
friend. 

On,    on,    sped  the  little  boat;    gaining  rapidly  now. 

At  last,  with  fearful  oaths,  the  fugitives  stopped  and 
forced  the  coming  conflict.  The  pursuing  boat  glided 
quickly  along  side,  and  then,  commenced  the  sham  bat 
tle  in  the  fast  gathering  darkness. 

Terror-stricken,  the  captive  crouched  in  the  bow  of 
the  boat  and  watched  the  conflict.  It  lasted  but  a  few 
minutes,  and  then,  the  detective,  as  Zell  supposed  him 
to  be,  was  overpowered  and  bound.  One  of  the  two 
men  entered  the  captured  boat  and  together  the  two 
boats  continued  across  the  lake. 


252  A    GATHERING    OF    VILLAINS. 

As  they  sped  onward  toward  the  Fisher's,  Kingsbury 
told  the  horrified  girl  of  his  intentions." 

"Refuse  me,"  said  Kingsbury  in  a  tone  of  villainous 
triumph,  "and  the  detective  shall  die  within  an  hour; 
marry  me,  and  he  shall  go  free.  I  have  wealth;  we  will 
go  to  some  foreign  country  where  we  can  live  in  luxury. 
Everything  that  heart  can  desire,  shall  be  yours.  Do 
you  accept?  Shall  your  friend  live?  or  will  you  refuse 
and  let  him  die.  Take  your  choice;  but  you  shall  be 
my  wife  whether  or  no.  For  so  help  me  God,  you  shall 
be  a  wife  this  night!" 

At  last  the  Fishers — a  small  hamlet  on  the  northern 
shore  of  the  lake — was  reached,  and  the  captive  Zell 
was  taken  to  the  place  arranged  for  her  reception,  which 
was  a  low  groggery  kept  by  Dame  Gostaff.  "Here, 
Dame  Gostaff,"  said  Kingsbury,  bringing  his  captive,  "I 
have  brought  my  betrothed  wife;  take  her  to  her  room 
and  see  that  her  wants  are  supplied." 

"Yes,  yes,"  cried  Dame  Gostaff  gleefully.  "I'll  see 
that  she  wants  nothing." 

In  the  course  of  an  hour,  everything  was  ready  and 
the  guests  were  assembled  in  the  barroom  to  witness  the 
wedding. 

"I  will  make  a  sure  thing  of  it  this  time,"  said  Kings- 
bury.  "Ah,  have  a  little  wine  for  the  girl;  and  here, 
put  a  drop  of  this  in,  just  to  quiet  her  nerves  you 
know." 

"Yes,  yes,"  replied  Dame  Gostaff,   "I  understand." 

Vile  men  and  lewd  women  were  gathered  at  Dame 
Gostaff's,  in  anticipation  of  a  grand  spree.  They  were 
all  waiting  for  the  appearance  of  the  bride.  At  last,  the 


A    TRIUMPHANT   VILLAIN.  253 

door  opened  and  she  appeared  leaning  upon  the  arm  of 
her  intended." 

1  'A  little  wine,  Dame  Gostaff,"  said  Kingsbury,  giving 
her  a  meaning  look  which  she  well  understood. 

"Yes,  yes,"  replied  the  dame,  and  brought  the  wine. 

"Stand  up,"  commanded  the  Justice. 

"Take  this  Zell,"  whispered  Kingsbury;  "it  will  make 
you  feel  better,"  and  he  handed  her  the  wine. 

"Stand up,"  said  the  official.  "Do  you  take  this  air 
gal  fer  yer  lawful  wife,  an'  will  yer  love  an'  honor  her 
an'  pertec  her,  so  long's  yer  live,  so  help  ye  God?" 

"I  will,"  replied  Kingsbury. 

"An'  do  you  take  this  air  man  fur  better  an'  fur  wus- 
ser,  an'  will  love  an'  honor  an'  oby  'im,  so  help  ye 
God." 

For  a  moment  the  poor  girl  was  silent;  but  for  a 
moment  only.  Then  she  answered — 

"To  save  his  life,  O  God!   I  will." 

Not  many  who  stood  by  heard  her  answer;  for  Dumars, 
who  was  standing  by,  drowned  her  answer  by  rushing 
forward  and  without  waiting  for  the  official  to  pronounce 
them  man  and  wife,  poured  forth  his  congratulations,  so 
as  to  drown  her  feeble  words. 

"Take  her  to  her  room,  Dame  Gostaff,"  and  see  that 
all  is  prepared  tor  the  coming  of  her  lord  and  master!" 
commanded  the  triumphant  villain.  Then,  turning  to 
the  crowd,  said — 

"Make  merry,  lads  and  lassies!  Fill  up  the  flowing 
bowl — fill  it  to  the  brim!  for  it's  my  treat  to-night!" 

It  was  midnight;  the  red  wine  and  fiery  liquor  had 
flown  freely;  wild  and  lewd  were  the  Bacchanalian 


254  THE    HORRIFIED    ZELL. 

orgies  of  that  night.  Loud,  the  siren  songs  rose  above 
the  music  and  the  dance;  when  Kingsbury  approached 
the  vile  hostess  and  said — 

"Ah,  Dame  Gostaff,  how  fares  the  fair  bride?  Has 
she  aroused  yet  from  the  effects  of  the  drug?" 

"Yes,  yes,"  replied  Dame  Gostaff,  "she  is  now  ready 
for  her  lord." 

"Ah,  I  will  go  to  her  then.  Pass  out  the  fiery  liquor 
—pass  it  out  freely,  Dame  Gostaff  and  I  will  pay  on  the 
morrow — good  night." 

Repairing  to  his  wife's  apartment  he  found  her  fully 
recovered  from  the  stupifying  effects  of  the  drug. 

"Ah,"  he  murmured,  advancing  toward  her;  the  vil 
lainous  triumph  gleaming  from  his  snaky  eyes;  "Ah, 
Zell,  at  last  you  are  my  wife.  Oh,  I  have  waited  long 
for  this  happy  moment.  Come,  my  darling  bride — 
come — 

But  he  did  dot  finish  the  sentence;  for,  uttering  one 
wild,  frightened  scream,  the  horrified  girl  rushed  from 
the  room. 

Down  through  the  crowded  bar-room  and  out  into  the 
night  she  rushed  with  the  speed  of  a  frightened  deer. 

"After  her,  after  her!"  shouted  the  baffled  and  exas 
perated  villain.  "Quick,  quick!  she's  gone  mad!  Quick 
before  she  reaches  the  lake!  She  will  drown  herself! 
After  her,  quick!  I  will  give  a  thousand  dollars  to  the 
man  that  saves  her!" 

On,  on  flew  the  frightened,  determined  Zell.  The 
shouts  and  hurrying  footsteps  of  the  pursuers  only  lent 
speed  to  her  flight. 


"O    GOD,    LET    ME    DIE1." 

4<O  God!"  she  cried,  "give  me  strength  to  reach  the 
water.  Let  me  die!  O  God!  let  me  die!" 

A  moment  more,  and  she  had  reached  the  shore  where 
the  water  ran  swift  and  deep,  for  a  moment  she  paused, 
her  white  robe  fluttered  in  the  moonlight  and  then,  a 
little  frightened  cry,  a  splash,  a  plunge  and  she  was 
gone. 

The  dark,  cold  waters  leapt  above  her  frail  form,  and, 
like  a  demon's  arms,  seized  upon  the  fair  victim  and  bore 
her  away. 

"Too  late,  too  late!"  shouted  the  frustrated  Kingsbury, 
as  he  saw  her  disappear  beneath  the  dark,  cruel  waves. 
"Gone,  gone!" 


CHAPTER  XLII. 


RETRIBUTION. 

It  was  midnight,  and  along  the  shore  of  the  beau 
tiful  little  lake  that  nestled  so  snugly  among  the  snow 
bound  mountains  of  the  Coeur  de  Lion,  could  be  seen, 
a  little  boat  gliding  silently  and  swiftly  toward  the  Fishers. 

"Ah,  what  is  that,  I  wonder!"  exclaimed  the  lone  oc 
cupant  of  the  little  boat.  "Great  Jupiter!"  he  ejac 
ulated,  half  rising  in  the  boat  and  peering  intently  to 
ward  the  Fishers.  "God!  it  is  a  woman  running  toward 
the  lake,  and  there  are  men  following  her,  too!" 

"On,  on,  little  boat,"  urged  the  boatman;  "speed 
now!"  and  turning  its  prow  directly  toward  the  point  for 
which  the  fugitive  was  makking,  it  sped  swiftly  to  the 
shore . 

Out  upon  the  still  midnight  air  rang  the  shouts  of  the 
drunken  mob.  Then  a  white  figure  fluttered  for  a  mo 
ment  upon  the  rocky  shore  where  the  waves  lashed  them 
selves  into  foam  upon  the  black  rocks;  then  came  a  low, 
pitiful  cry  and  the  white  robed  figure  disappeared,  neath 
the  dark,  cold  waves. 

"God  of  Heaven!"  cried  the  boatman,  as  the  little 
boat  dashed  to  the  spot,  and  he  saw  the  white  garments, 
and  the  still,  white,  upturned  face  of  the  unfortunate 
girl. 

Seizing  her  in  his  strong  hands,  he  drew  her  quickly 
into  the  boat  and  hastily  throwing  his  overcoat  over  her, 

(256) 


THE  PURSUING  BOAT. 


KINGSBURY    DEAD.  257 

he  turned  and  confronted  the  mob  who  had  gathered 
upon  the  shore. 

"Ho,  there!"  cried  Kingsbury.  "bring  her  here, 
she  is  my  wife,  brin — " 

But  he  never  finished  those  words;  for,  quick  as  light 
ning  the  boatman's  arm  was  raised;  then  came  a  bright 
flash,  a  sharp  report  followed  by  a  horrible  shriek,  and 
Kingsbury,  tottering  for  a  moment  upon  the  very  spot 
where  Zell  had  stood  but  a  few  moments  before,  pitched 
forward  and  disappeared  beneath  the  seething  waters 
below. 

"Hounds  of  hell!"  hissed  the  boatman,  "back  for 
your  lives!  I  will  shoot  the  first  man  that  advances  a 
step."  So  saying,  he  turned  the  boat  into  the  lake  and 
sped  swiftly  away  in  the  direction  of  Ruby  Gulch. 

"To  the  boats,"  cried  Dumars,  "and  after  them!" 
And  in  a  moment,  the  boat  in  which  Dumars  had  come, 
was  manned  by  himself,  Jack  and  Fred — two  of  his  old 
associates — and  a  few  toughs  of  the  place,  and  set  out  in 
pursuit . 

A\vay  over  the  angry  waters  of  the  lake,  flew  the  pur 
sued  and  pursuers.  On,  on,  they  flew.  The  wind  had 
raised  to  almost  a  gale,  and  the  little  boat,  bounding 
from  billow  to  billow,  dashed  the  cold  spray  into  the 
pale  face  of  the  half  unconscious  girl  as  they  flew  on 
ward. 

"O  God!"  came  in  a  feeble  voice  from  the  prostrate 
figure  as  she  moved  uneasily  and  attempted  to  'rise. 
"Where  am  I?"  she  moaned.  "O!"  and  a  convulsive 
shudder  passed  over  her  as  she  remembered,  with  an 
awful,  sickening  feeling  at  her  heart,  the  awful  tragedy 
of  that  night. 


258  MORE    SHOOTING    FOLLOWS. 

She  heard  the  splashing  of  water,  and  she  knew  that 
she  was  in  a  boat;  and  rising  to  a  sitting  posture,  she 
saw  the  dark  form  of  the  boatman.  He  was  gazing 
intently  across  the  water.  Following  his  gaze,  she  saw 
the  pursuers.  They  were  gaining  rapidly  now  for  the 
men,  had  taken  the  oars  and  were  rowing  to  aid  the 
sails  in  propelling  the  boat .  They  were  scarcely  a 
hundred  yards  distant  now. 

"Oh!"  exclaimed  Zell,  with  a  shudder  and  covering 
her  face  with  her  hands,  she  endeavored  to  shut  out  the 
awful  sight.  For,  at  that  moment,  the  boatman,  bend 
ing  slightly  forward,  raised  a  long,  dark  object  which 
the  girl  knew  was  a  rifle.  For  an  instant  he  glanced 
along  its  shining  barrel;  then  came  a  bright  flash,  a 
deafening  report  followed  by  a  cry  of  pain  from  the  pur 
suing  boat. 

Again,  and  again,  came  that  deadly  report,  followed 
by  that  awful  cry. 

''Ah,  I  thought  so,"  muttered  the  boatman,  as  the 
pursuing  boat  swung  quickly  to  leeward  and  began 
speeding  away.  "Ha,  ha,"  just  one  more!"  said  the 
avenger,  "just  a  parting  shot,"  and  again  he  raised  the 
rifle— 

"Don't  dont'!"  pleaded  Zell.  "O  Charley!"  she  cried, 
staggering  forward  and  throwing  her  arms  around  the 
boatman's  neck.  ''Don't!  Oh  don't  do  it  again!"  she 
pleaded,  "let  them  go,  Charley,  let  them  go!" 

''Zell!"  he  exclaimed,  "Oh,  I  thank  God  that  I  was 
not  too  late!  But  tell  me  Zell,  what  has  happened? 
How  came  you  there,  and  why  did  you  try  to  drown 
yourself?" 


HER    HEART    BOUNDS    WITH    HOPE.  259 

In  a  low  tremulous  tone,  Zell  told  the  story  of  that 
night  of  horror,  of  her  abduction,  of  her  forced  marriage 
with  Kingsbury. 

"Oh,"  she  cried,  in  a  voice  tremulous  with  emotion, 
4  'I  would  a  thousand  times  rather  have  died  than  to  have 
let  him—  '  here  the  poor  girl  completely  broke  down; 
and,  hiding  her  face  in  his  bosom,  she  burst  into  tears. 
But  whether  those  tears  were  of  grief  or  joy,  let  those 
who  will,  say. 

"Charley,"  she  asked,  after  choking  down  the  sobs, 
"how  did  it  happen?  How  came  you  there  when  I  jumped 
into  the  lake?" 

"I  was  looking  for  you,  Zell,"  he  replied,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  he  told  her  of  Jessie's  letter,  and  how  he  had 
come  to  Ruby  Gulch  after  her.  How,  when  he  had 
reached  the  carriage  he  found  that  she  was  gone.  No 
one  knew  where  nor  when  she  went. 

"I  met  a  little  boy,"  he  said,  "down  by  the  lakeshore, 
and  he  told  me  that  he  saw  you  go  out  in  a  boat,  and  a 
little  while  after,  he  saw  a  boat  with  three  men  in  it, 
run  her  down  and  carry  her  off.  The  boy  said  that  the 
boat  went  directly  across  the  lake.  So,"  he  said,  "I 
came  here  in  hope  of  finding  a  trace  of  you. 

For  some  time  they  stood  in  silence,  then  Zell,  look 
ing  up  into  her  lover's  face  asked  in  a  low,  beseeching 
tone— 

"Charley,  am  I  that  man's  wife?" 

"No, "  he  answered  in  a  deep,  passionate  voice,  "no, 
you  are  no  wife,  little  Zell  Jim  Kingsbury  does  not 
live!" 

"O  Charley!"  cried  the  girl,    her  heart  bounding  with 


260  CLEARING    UP    THEIR    DIFFERENCES. 

hope,  with  love  and  joy  at  the  glad  news  of  her  freedom 
and  her  enemy's  death,  "I  owe  all  this  to  you — life, 
honor,  everything!  O  that  I  had  known  what  I  now 
know,  all  this  need  not  to  have  happened!" 

"Zell,"  said  the  detective,  taking  her  hands  in  his  and 
looking  down  into  her  wide,  blue  eyes  raised  so  beseech 
ingly,  so  imploringly  to  his,  "let  the  past  be  forgotten — 
forget  and  forgive." 

"Can  you  forgive  me,  Charley?  can  you  take  me  back 
to  your  heart  again  and  love  me  as  you  loved  me  before? 
Can  you  trust  me  after  all  that  I  have  done,  after  leav 
ing  you  as  I  did  that  day  down  by  the  brook  beneath  the 
old  oak  tree?  Oh,  why  did  I  do  that,  Charley?  Why  did 
you  allow  me  to  go?"  cried  the  penitent  girl  through  her 
sobs  and  tears. 

"With  all  my  heart,  Zell,  I  can  and  do  trust  you.  I 
love  you  now,  Zell,  better  than  I  ever  loved  you  before. 
Don't  ask  me  to  forgive  you;  it  is  I  that  should  ask  your 
forgiveness.  I  knew  of  your  jealousy  and  it  was  not 
altogether  without  cause — and  I  ought  to  have  done 
differently;  but  we  don't  always  do  just  as  we  aught. 
We  have  both  paid  well  for  our  folly  and,  I  think,  it 
will  be  a  lesson  that  will  last  us  the  rest  of  our  lives." 

"O  my  generous,  noble-hearted  boy!"  she  murmured. 
"Oh,  if  you  could  only  know  how  I  have  suffered  you 
would  say  that  I  have  been  punished,  and  perhaps  justly 
too,  for  my  folly — ' 

"Don't  Zell,"  pleaded  Charley,  "you  are  not  alone  in 
this;  I  too  have  suffered  and  was  to  blame.  I  ought  to 
have  known  better  than  to  allow  such  a  thing  to  happen. 
I  am  older  than  you,  and  ought,  at  least,  to  have  known 


'  'OUR    WORK    IS    DONE."  26l 

better.  But  Zell,  do  you  know  that  this  has  been  the 
means  whereby  the  work  we  undertook  last  spring  has 
been  accomplished — Jim  Kingsbury  is  dead]  our  work  is 
done." 

-Thank  God!"  cried  Zell. 

1  'And  my  summer's  vacation  is  ended." 

"But  you  shall  not  go  back!"  declared  the  girl  em 
phatically. 

"It  has  been  almost  a  year  now  since  I  got  my  vaca 
tion." 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

CONCLUSION. 

Great  was  the  rejoicing  in  the  little  home  at  Ceur  De 
Lion  when  the  truant  was  brought  home. 

The  story  of  her  exile,  of  her  abduction,  and  her  des 
perate  attempt  to  escape  by  the  sacrifice  of  her  own  life 
and  the  rescue,  the  flight  and  the  deadly  work  of  Char 
ley's  gun  were  soon  told  to  wondering  and  awstricken 
friends. 

"Now,  then,"  said  Frank  Smith,  "you  have  had  all 
your  say — I  am  going  to  have  mine  now!  This  thing  has 
g'one  far  enough,  and  I  put  the  motion  before  the  house 
that  we  have  a  wedding  here  to-night.  The  minister 
lives  just  across  the  street;  in  an  hour  it  can  be  did." 

"O!  O!  but  won't  that  be  jolly!"  cried  Kitty.  "But 
I  want  to  amend  that  motion — here's  brother  Fred,  and 
Jessie — here  Miss  Jessie,  come  back  here;  we  are  not 
through  with  you  yet.  Fred,  go  bring  her  back  here — 
let's  have  a  double  wedding.  It's  so  romantic  and  econ 
omical  you  know.  Oh,  you  can't  get  away,  little  Jessie!" 
cried  Kitty,  as  Fred  returned  with  the  blushing  girl. 

"Give  us  a  week,"  pleaded  Zell,  "Jessie  isn't  quite 
ready  yet." 

So  it  was  arranged .  And,  as  the  detective  had  some 
business  at  Ruby  Gulch,  he  was  instructed  to  invite 
Estella  to  the  wedding. 

Returning  home  on  Saturday,  Charley  was  met  in  the 
sitting  room  by  Zell,  carrying  a  little  pink  and  white 

(262) 


THE  DOUBLE  WEDDING. 


A    HAPPY,    YOUNG    MOTHER.  263 

bundle  in  her  arms,  which  she  held  out  to  him  and, 
with  a  shy,  roguish  expression  upon  her  happy  face, 
said — 

"See,  Charley,  what  we  have  found;  isn't  she  a 
beauty?"  And  they  named  her  after  me.  Kiss  her, 
Charley,  you — no,  no,  you  must  not  take  her,  you  are 
too  rough — kiss  her,  you  are  too  rough — kiss  her .  There 
— O!  you  kissed  her  right  on  the  nose!  Arn't  she  nice?" 

"Oh  yes,  it  is  awful  nice,  I  guess,"  he  said  doubtfully, 
as  the  little  lady  resented  the  awkward  kiss  by  yelling 
lustily. 

"Zell,  Zell,"  cried  Kitty  from  her  room.  "What  are 
you  doing  with  my  baby?" 

"Oh,  Charley  kissed  her,"  laughed  Zell,  carrying  the 
little  cherub  back  to  its  happy  mother. 

"I  suppose  I  ought  to  congratulate  you,"  said  Char 
ley,  coming  to  the  bedside,  and,  stooping  down,  he 
kissed  the  happy,  young  mother,  "but  I  don't  know  just 
how  to  do  it.  Anyhow,  she's  nice  and  you  did  splendid 
ly,  so  there!" 

"Thank  you,  Chaney;  perhaps  I  may  have  an  oppor 
tunity  to  return  the  compliment  by  and  by,"  said  Kitty. 

Just  then  some  neighbors  came  to  see  the  new  baby— 
the  first  born  at  Ceur  De  Lion . 

The  wedding  day  arrived  and  it  was  to  be  a  grand 
event,  for  it  was  the  first  wedding  at  the  mines.  All 
Ceur  De  Lion  was  togged  out  in  their  "Sunday  clothes." 
In  a  large  tent,  that  served  as  a  church,  the  ceremony 
was  performed  and  the  happy  couples  were  united. 

As  they  wended  their  way  homeward,  a  miserable 
figure  with  bloated,  besotted  face — the  very  picture  of  a 


264  END  WELL,  ALL  WELL. 

wretched,  drunken  bloat,  tottering  upon  the  verge  of  a 
drunkard's  grave,  who,  for  a  moment,  had  paused  before 
the  church  door,  was  heard  to  mutter,  as  he  turned  and 
staggered  away— 

•'Happy  Zell!"  and  Dumars  turned  away  from  the 
happy  scene  and  returned  again  to  the  dark  dens  of  sin 
and  shame. 

What  more  is  there  to  tell? 

Nothing. 

Thus,  briefly  told,  ends  the  story  of  a  ' 'Summers 
Vacation." 

"Ah,  but  it  has  not  ended  yet,"  says  the  detective, 
"for  I  have  not  gone  back." 

And,  as  he  said  it,  he  saw  the  realization  of  that 
happy  dream  which  he  had  seen  in  a  vision  those  awful 
few  days  that  he  and  Zell  passed  in  the  dark,  gloomy 
cave — two  bright-eyed,  laughing  children  clambering 
upon  his  knees,  pulling  at  his  ears  and  whiskers  or  twin 
ing  their  tiny  arms  about  his  neck,  while  a  slight,  girl 
ish  figure  flitted  about,  the  fairy  queen  of  his  heart  and 
home. 

THE  END. 


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money,  description  of  the  plains,  etc.,  etc.  Copiously 
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FORBIDDEN  FRUIT;  310  pages.  A  truthful,  instruct 
ive,  pleasing  and  poetical  presentation  of  Biblical 
stories,  history  and  gospel  truth;  fully  and  hand 
somely  Illustrated  from  the  world-renowned  artist  Gustav  Dore;  by  E.  U,  Cook; 
the  whole  forming  an  exceedingly  interesting  and  entertaining  poetical  Bible. 
One  of  the  handsomest  volumes  ever  issued  in  Chicago. 


GEMS  OF  POETRY;  407  pages;  finely  illustrated.  Contains  a 
very  choice  and  varied  selection  of  our  most  popular,  beautiful 
and  time-honored  poems,  written  by  the  poets  of  all  ages  and 
climes.  A  magnificent  gift  book  fora  friend;  a  splendid  book 
for  the  holidays;  appropriate  for  a  birthday  or  wedding  present; 
a  fine  center  table  book,  interesting  to  all. 

THE  FIRST  MORTGAGE.    A  finely  written  and  fully  and  most 
elegantly  illustrated  volume  of  300  pages,  in  which  all  trials, 
difficulties  and  sorrows  of  life  are  represented  as  the  result  of 
a  mortgage.    How  this  mortgage  is  finally  and  fully  cancelled. 
A  book  at  once  entertaining  and  elevating. 


VILS  OF  THE  CITIES;   By  T.  DeWitt  Talmage,  D.  D.;   530  pages.     The 


author,  in  company  with  the  proper  detectives,  visited  many  of  the  most 
vile  and  wicked  places  in  New  York  City  and  Brooklyn,  ostensibly  looking 
for  a  thief,  but  in  reality  taking  notes  for  a  series  of  discourses  published 


In  this  volume,  which  contains  a  full  and  graphic  description  of  what  he  saw 
and  the  lessons  drawn  therefrom.  The  Doctor  has  also  extended  his  observations 
to  the  "Summer  Resorts,"  "Watering  Places,"  Races,  etc.,  etc  ,  all  of  which  are 
popularized  from  his  standpoint  in  this  volume.  Handsomely  illustrated  and 
decidedly  interesting. 


r-f^A 

* 


LMAGE  IN  THE  HOLY  LAND;  322  pages.    The  Palestine  Sermous  of  T. 
DeWitt  Talmage,  delivered  during  his  tour  of  the  Holy  Land.    Including 


graphic  descriptions  of  Sacred  Places,  Vivid  Delineations  of  Gospel  Truths, 
interesting  local  reminiscences,  etc.,  etc.,  by  his  visit  to  the  many  places 

made  sacred  by  the  personal  presence  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  great  pens  of 

Biblical  characters  and  writers.    Copiously  illustrated. 


WEBSTER'S 

Unabridged  Dictionary 


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Life  in  the  far  West. 


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